Daddy's Lil Monster
by L0V3Z
Summary: AU. She went to stretch her arms above her head and winced when she felt a sharp pain on the left side of her body, just below her collarbone. A yelp escaped her when she glanced down and saw black ink on her porcelain skin glaring right back at her. Her mind filled with many possibilities and she hoped that her worse fear was not about to come true.
1. Chapter 1

Harley woke up with a groan. Everything hurt as she sat up on the bed. Her head pounded and her body ached as she fought to keep her body upright.

Looking around her at the well lit room, she saw her clothes littering the floor along with decorations and a broken lamp. When did her room get so messy? And since when did she sleep naked?

Harley went into a panic when she didn't recognize the room or the bed that she slept in. Her worry doubled when she didn't remember how she had gotten there, or how she ended up naked in the bed. Calming her beating heart, she thought back to the previous night regardless of the hangover that threatened to make her head pop. A few images of a bar, Tatsu and then June flashed in her mind.

She groaned. It was a girls' night out and she may have had one too many shots. She looked around the room and saw that neither of her friends were near by, nor was there any other living person in sight. By the set up, she realized that she was probably in a hotel room and by the look of her clothes trailing from the front door to the bed, she had probably picked up some guy in the bar.

And it looked like they had a pretty fun night since various objects around the room were knocked over during the drunken tryst. That explained the bruises that she felt on her skin and the ache between her legs. Harley shrugged it off, this wasn't the first time she had had a drunken one-night stand, but it was surely the first she couldn't fully remember. She'd have to grill the girls later for more information.

She went to stretch her arms above her head and winced when she felt a sharp pain on the left side of her body, just below her collarbone. A yelp escaped her when she glanced down and saw black ink on her porcelain skin glaring right back at her. Her mind filled with many possibilities and she hoped that her worse fear was not about to come true.

Bolting out of the bed, she ran around trying to find any reflective surface she could and trying not to trip on the items on the floor. Finally finding the bathroom, she threw the door open and stood in front of the mirror. Her eyes widened considerably when she confirmed what she had initially feared.

Just above her left breast was a very visible tattoo that said, "Daddy's Lil' Monster" in a bold cursive hand. She groaned, these types of things always seemed to happened to her.

As Harley gently ran her hand over the tender flesh, she had two thoughts burning in her mind. What the hell happened last night? And who in the world was "Daddy"?

* * *

Harley tapped her finger on her arm impatiently as she listened to June.

"So, here's what happened," June said rather slowly as she paced in front of Harley. "Tatsu went home since Digger had just come home from his two week job and then it was just the two of us..."

"How did two people become one very confused person sitting in a bed naked?" Harley pressed, her voice rather agitated. Every time they went to the clubs, they had one rule: never leave the drunk behind. She became a hazard every time she drank, they all knew that.

She saw June twiddle her thumbs. "Well...you see. These two really cute guys came and wanted to dance. I didn't see any harm so we went and danced with them. At this point, you and one of the cuties were completely off your mental from all the shots you guys took and totally hit it off. So when it was time to leave, you didn't want to leave him behind and kept insisting that you wanted to go with him so..."

"So you let me go with him?!" Harley practically yelled. She always said crazy stuff when she was drunk and her friends knew better than to listen.

"Rick vouched for him and sai-"

Harley blinked. "Omg! You totally left me so you could go with the other cute guy!"

From the way that June blushed, Harley knew it was true. One of her best friends in the world had just ditched her to get some sexy guy out of his pants. Harley was fuming and pouted on the couch as June tried her best to apologize.

"Come on, Harleen. It's not like this is the first time this kind of thing has happened. Nothing bad occurred and I came to check on you as soon as I woke up today. Looks like you got home just fine considerin-"

June abruptly cut off her speech when she saw Harley unceremoniously unbutton her shirt to show the ink written on her skin. "Omg," June squeaked out when she took in the writing.

"Yeah, omg," Harley repeated sternly. "I ended up sleeping with him too." She added in the extra information not sure if it made things better or worse.

"Okay," June said panicked, "The sleeping together I totally expected, but this." She pointed to the tattoo. "This is just messed up. Is it permanent?"

"I wouldn't be worried right now if it wasn't." She had tried tirelessly to scrub it off in the shower that morning. "I can't even remember how I got this. Was there a tattoo shop near the club when you left us?" When June shook her head, Harley let out a sigh and began to pout.

Reaching out to give her friend a hug, June tried her best to console her. "You guys were so drunk that there was no way you would have been able to walk to any parlour anyways. We sent the cab straight to your apartment."

"How in the world did I end up in a hotel then?"

"I don't know," June sighed, "I'm so sorry for leaving you. Look, I'll call up Rick and we'll see if Joker remembers anything."

"Joker?"

June gave her a quizzical look. "Yeah. That's the guy you were with yesterday. You don't remember him either?"

Harley shook her head. "I remember the drinking part, not the guys. But seriously, you left me with a guy named Joker? What type of name is that?"

"Nickname?" June offered absentmindedly. This was not the time to be discussing the man's name origin.

"I really hope he knows what happened last night." Harley bit her thumb nail.

"I do too," June added as she stood and pulled Harley with her. "Come on. Let's get you some pudding from that little bakery you like so much while I text Rick. I know it doesn't make up for being a horrible friend, but it's my treat as an apology."

Hearing that, Harley perked up. Maybe pudding would fix the situation a little bit.

* * *

"Frost!" Joker yelled out the door and waited until the unfazed man walked into his area. Laid out in front of him were several tattoo needles still in their packages and a tattoo gun. "Where's my other needle? I swear I had 20 left, but one is missing. The next shipment isn't coming for a couple of days. I'm going to need every single one."

"Sorry, boss. I don't recall using one of them."

Joker tsked. Today was not going very well. First he woke up next to some woman he didn't remember, had a small pain on his lower back from who knows what, and was now missing materials for his next client. That was the last time he would ever let Flag talk him into going out to drink.

He couldn't remember much from the night, which was odd since he could usually hold more liquor than the average man. Then again, he hadn't had much sleep in the last couple of days due to business being so busy. But from what he did remember, he knew that the night had been filled with a lot booze and a lot of debauchery. The blonde woman was quite a sex pistol. He could barely remember her face and didn't have enough time to look before he left, but he remembered her body well. He'd have to ask Flag if he knew her number just in case he wanted to call her up for some fun next time.

Just as the thought left his mind, his phone rang loudly. He glanced at the screen and saw his friends name flash back at him. Speak of the devil and he will appear, or in this case, call. "Flag? Wait what happened?...No I don't remember that...The girl from last night?" Joker cursed under his breath. "I'll be there in ten."

He quickly hung up his phone and bolted for the door. His day just kept getting worse.

"Where are you going, boss?" Frost called out to him.

"Out! Look after the place for a while," Joker yelled back, "I might know where the last needle went."

* * *

Harley scooped at the pudding cup and watched as June and Rick, the dark haired man introduced himself as, argued. He was cute, Harley couldn't deny that, and he was totally June's type. But right now, she could tell that her friend was absolutely livid on her behalf.

Maybe it was the pudding talking, but at this point, Harley had somehow come to terms with the tattoo and was more concerned about the memory loss. Just how many brain cells did she kill last night.

They had marched to Flag's apartment right after they had gone to the bakery, and her friend had began her onslaught on the man as soon as he opened the door. Now Harley sat on the couch waiting for this man, Joker, as the two tried to claw each others throats out. The only reason she didn't interrupt was because they were so amusing to watch.

"You said that he was trustworthy, Rick!" June yelled, "Why in the world would he allow her to get that tattoo?"

"He is trustworthy. Sure, he can be an ass at times, but the guy's pretty...stable," Flag argued, but faltered slightly when he was trying to come up with an appropriate adjective to describe his friend.

"What was up with that pause?!" June barely ever raised her voice since she was often a very calm collected woman. But she was extremely motherly, and her guilt about putting Harley in this particular position outweighed her usual manner.

Flag ran his hands through his hair. This was a mess. "I'm sure this was all an accident. We were all pretty out of our heads when we separated yesterday," he paused and pointed a finger at June. "It was a miracle that we didn't end up with tattoos ourselves."

With a groan, June collapsed next to Harley on the couch. "I'm the worst friend on the face of the planet," she mumbled, "I should have never brought you out drinking. I know how crazy you get with the tequila."

All Harley could do was nod her head in agreement as she took another scoop of pudding.

Just as silence settled across the apartment, the front door flew open and everyone watched as a man with green hair and pale skin entered. The tank top that he wore showed off his defined arms and the tattoos that covered them. His chest rose quickly as if he had been running.

Harley trailed her eyes up his figure and bit her lip. The man was hot and his very person screamed bad boy. When her eyes caught sight of his dark blue orbs, she nearly dropped her spoon. One look at them and the forgotten night came flooding back to her. There was confusion swimming in his eyes for a split second as his gaze locked onto hers, and then just like her, recognition dawned on the man.

A giggle erupted from her. "Hi, Daddy."


	2. Chapter 2

_Hi y'all! Thanks to all of those who liked the first chapter. This is a very AU story of Harley and Joker without the usual crime lord. Joker and Harley are just as crazy as ever, but this fic is more if they were living in normal society. This is a fun side story more than anything._

 _I hope you guys like this next chapter! Enjoy! :D_

* * *

"Juneeeee," Harley slurred, "Don't make me go!" She clung to Joker's arm and used him as a shield from her friend. "I wan'na be with my favourite Puddin'!"

June tried to grab for the blonde woman, but she quickly moved out of the way and behind the pale man. "Harleen," June sighed, "Come on, I need to get you home. You're so out of it."

A pout formed on Harley's face and she turned her puppy dog eyes on June. "Pleaaseeeeee. I wan'na go with Puddin'!" Said man laughed and slung his arm over Harley's shoulders.

"June, it's fine. I'll take her home," Joker said rather slowly, as if he couldn't form the words properly. Regardless of the offer, June remained unconvinced since the man was having a hard time standing upright as it was. She opened her mouth to argue when a light touch on her back made her turn around.

"Let's just let them go home together," Flag said without worry.

"Rick!" she argued, "They can barely speak two words without giggling like children." It was true. Every time the pair would open their mouths, a laugh or a giggle would come out as if everything was the funniest joke they had ever heard.

Shrugging, Flag leaned against the wall behind him. He couldn't really say much considering that June and him had quite a few drinks as well. "I swear Harley would be more safe with Joker than if she was alone. He tends to scare people away. Look, they're so drunk that they wouldn't even make it anywhere to cause trouble. Why don't we just send them off in a cab to Harley's and make the best of the rest of our night."

The offer sounded so tempting as he flashed June his signature smile. Biting her lip, she thought hard about his words. Harley would never forgive her in the morning, but it seemed like there was no end to her pouting tonight. They had been trying to separate her from Joker for about twenty minutes with no success. Best case scenario, they fall asleep in Harley's apartment. Worse case, they do the deed and then fall asleep in Harley's apartment.

With a sigh, she made up her mind. June turned back to the chatting pair. She hoped spending the night with Joker would make Harley more inclined to talk to her tomorrow.

"Fine, he can go home with you," she finally said. A wide smile formed on Harley's face and she couldn't help but smile back.

Squealing, Harley ran to her friend and locked her in a tight hug, kissing her cheeks. "Ya the best!"

"But," June said seriously, "Make sure to go straight home. Do you hear me?"

Harley nodded several times and then skipped back to Joker's side.

Addressing Joker, June narrowed her eyes. "You too. Take care of her."

Joker flashed a smile her way. "Of course." He looked down at the blonde in his arms. "Wouldn't want anything bad to happened to you, would we, toots?"

* * *

Harley curled up to Joker's side as the cab drove them towards her apartment. She laughed as he told her joke after joke about the most random of things.

With her slightly blurry vision, she saw the ink that lined his arms and peaked out of his t-shirt and couldn't help but run her fingers across the one near his collarbone.

"They're so pretty," she cooed. Joker hummed as he felt her fingers trace the jester tattoo. It felt good on his slightly heated skin. "Where'd ya get them?"

His fingers fiddled with the tips of her dyed hair as he answered. "Designed that one myself, Harls."

Her eyes widened slightly. "You know how to do tattoos?" she asked cheerfully.

"I'm a tattoo artist, baby. It's what I do."

He heard an excited squeal from the woman beside him. It was so high pitched that even the cab driver's eyes flickered to the mirror to see where the noise was coming from.

"That's so sexy, Puddin'!"

A smirk stretched on Joker's lips as he looked down at her shining eyes. She was an odd one, but that's what he liked about her. Most women now a days would only flutter their eyelashes and show a small smile. Harley didn't hesitate to give him an open mouthed smile or laugh to her heart's content. She wasn't fake in the least.

"Want to see the shop?" Joker asked on a whim.

"Can we really?" Harley jumped in her seat. "Oh Puddin' that would be so great!" In less than ten minutes, she had forgotten about her promise to go directly home.

He let out a chuckle as he leaned forward and told the driver the new directions.

Fifteen minutes later, the cab pulled up to a strip mall. Paying the driver, the stumbling pair got out of the car. Harley leaned most of her weight on Joker, still inebriated. Joker led them to a small store with a "Revolver Tattoo and Piercings" sign hanging over the door. Producing a key from his pocket, he made quick work of the lock and opened it.

He walked inside with Harley in tow and felt around for the light switch. When the lights flickered on, Harley gasped when she saw the deep purple walls and the display case of jewellery. In all her years, she never once entered a tattoo shop. It didn't look as scary as she thought it would, and surprisingly it smelled more like antiseptic than smoke and alcohol.

She skipped around the front desk and took a peek at the display cases. Humming, she glanced at the various bars and rings. She never knew that they came in this many lengths, colours, or gauges. She loved the jewels that were embedded in some of them.

"Harls, want to see the rooms?" Joker asked from behind her. She turned around and profusely nodded. Skipping over to him, she hooked her arm through his and let him lead her towards the back of the shop. He opened the door at the very back. "This one is mine."

Harley took in the room. The walls were covered with multiple drawings of skulls, animals, and tribal patterns—some coloured and others in black and white. One was of a hyena cackling. It was so detailed that she could see the individual hairs of the fur. They were absolutely beautiful.

"Did you draw all these?" she asked. Joker nodded at her. "These are amazing. I could never draw this good. Are they all for clients?"

"No, not all." He pointed to the drawing of the smile painted in red lipstick near the corner of the room.

"Hey! That's the one on your arm!" Harley cried out excitedly.

"Sure is, toots."

"What about this one?" She pointed to the pinned sheet with several "HAHAHA" on it.

Looking back over her shoulder, she saw as Joker pulled down the front of his shirt to revel the dark writing on his skin. Making her way over to him, Harley placed both of her hands on his chest. One finger traced over the ink carefully as she hummed.

Her blue eyes flickered up to his, and Joker could see the mischief swimming in them. "What other ones do you have?" she asked in a sultry voice.

A smirk formed on his face. "You want to see?"

Harley gave him a bright smile. "Of course, Puddin'!"

Reaching for the bottom of his shirt, he lifted it over his head to reveal his muscled chest. When he looked back down at her, his smirk grew when he saw how her eyes remained trained on his chest as she bit at her lip. He knew that he had a nice body but there was nothing better than the confidence booster when a sexy woman stared at him like she was about to jump him.

Hesitantly, Harley raised her hands to touch his tattooed skin. She knew that he had a few, but without his shirt, she saw that almost every inch of his torso and arms were painted with the black ink. Her hands fluttered from the jester on his shoulder to the grin on his abs.

Feeling the hard ripples under her hands made her mouth water just a bit more. Joker looked like such a lanky man that it was a welcomed surprising to see toned arms and body.

Walking around him, Harley inspected the tattoos on his back. Again several designs painted his pale skin.

Joker's eyes remained trained on her as she inspected every inch of him; the light touches on his skin not going unnoticed. She looked so fascinated by the tattoos, like him when he had gotten his very first. Over the years, he kept adding more to the collection and they soon became a part of him. Without them, he would no doubt feel like an intruder in his own skin.

"They're so pretty." That was one word that he's never heard describe his tattoos before. "I wish I had one too," he heard Harley pout when she fully rounded back to face him. Her head was tilted slightly down and he could see how she puffed out her cheeks.

Glancing down at her dress, he noticed the unmarred skin that laid underneath. Her skin was just as pale as his, and he knew just how well the ink would turn out. "I can give you one," he offered.

If he was sober, he would have realized the error in giving a drunken woman tattoos, but at present, the alcohol turned his mental capacity to that of a teenager. Then again if she was sober, Harley would have also realized that an impromptu tattoo may not have been such a good idea either.

Harley lifted her eyes to his, looking hopeful. "Really? You mean it?"

"We are in a tattoo shop. And I have some things laid out already." He pointed to the center of the room where a reclining chair with a tray and a swivel chair beside it. Placed on the tray were a tattoo gun, several needles, and small pucks of ink.

Letting out a squeal, Harley bounded into his arms. "I don't know what to get though," she confessed, when she let go of him.

He thought hard for a second, and an idea donned on him. "Don't worry, baby, I've got you covered."

Leading her to the chair, he urged her to sit down as he got to work designing her tattoo. Harley remained on the chair, practically jumping in her seat from anticipation.

Ten minutes later he turned around from his desk with a stencil. He showed her the words. Harley giggled and nodded her agreement.

She laid back on the chair and slipped off the dress from her left shoulder. Joker turned back to her with purple gloves covering his hands. For some reason, he still remained shirtless, not that Harley was complaining.

"That's where you want it?" he asked, motioning to her exposed collarbone. When she bobbed her head, he placed the stencil over the area and peeled it off to reveal the imprint on her skin.

When he began to assemble the gun and uncap the ink, worry crept up in Harley's mind. "Is it going to hurt?"

"A little bit," he replied absentmindedly.

She let out a little whine. "Okay. I still want it."

Joker grinned at her as he held the needle close to her skin. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," she responded taking a deep breath.

The buzz of the gun filled the room as she felt the first sting of the needle. She squirmed a little under the pressure. "Hold still, baby."

It hurt a little at first, but after a couple of minutes all she felt was the pull of the skin and a slight tingling. She opted to watch the muscles on Joker's arm flex as he worked instead. He looked so focused on his work, regardless of being still slightly inebriated.

Joker redipped the needle and proceeded to etch the ink on her skin, wiping away at it ever so often. Stroke by stroke, he filled in the words that would forever mark her skin.

Sooner than she thought, he stood from his seat and pulled off his gloves. "Is it done?" she asked.

"Yeah, want to see?" Joker looked down at his work proudly.

Harley slowly stood and walked over to the full-length mirror on the wall. On her skin was a black cursive text reading, "Daddy's Lil Monster." Surprisingly, the ink was perfectly done with smooth edges. She smiled at the text. Her very first tattoo; the very thought made her feel chipper.

Turning around she once again bounded into Joker's arms. "I love it!" she praised, "You're amazing!"

He let out a cackle. "I know it," he said smugly.

"Thank you," she said, her eyes looking up into his. Before she knew what was happening, she went up on her tiptoes and touched her lips to his. He responded to her immediately. She moaned when she felt his tongue swipe her bottom lip, asking for permission to enter. Without a second thought, she parted them.

His tongue touched hers and for a moment they battled with each other. As their tongues explored each other's mouth, Harley let her hands wander up his arms and hooked around his neck. She felt one of Joker's hands rest the small of her back while the other drifted further down to caress her thigh.

Joker shoved her back into the chair, their lips still connected. Hurriedly, he moved his hands to clasp just below her butt and pulled her up to sit on the seat. He maneuvered himself so that he was standing between her legs. Removing his mouth from hers, he trailed it down the side of her neck, tasting her skin.

Moaning from his touch, Harley tilted her head to the side to give him better access. Her hands found their way into his dyed hair and she felt the silky locks under her hands. She could feel him press closer to her as she scooted to the very edge of the seat.

The apex of her thighs collided with his crotch and she felt the hardness under his zipper. He ground harder against her as he once again took her lips. The friction of his jeans could be felt through her thin underwear and her leg shot out when he rubbed against a particular bundle.

The tray clattered loudly as her foot crashed into it, and the pair separated slightly to look at the ink puck that had fallen off of it and onto the ground. All around it was black ink splattered on the floor. In their hast, Joker had forgotten to recap the container. He swore under his breath.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry," Harley mumbled as she squirmed out of his grasp intending on cleaning up the mess.

Instead of letting go, Joker tightened his hold on her waist. "Leave it, nothing to do about it now." He leaned back down to continue where he left off.

"We should clean it up," Harley said rather weakly as she felt his tongue against her neck. She wanted to clean it up, but if he continued that she wouldn't care for much longer. "What if we knock over the gun next?"

Joker growled, but paused in his actions anyways. He really didn't feel like accidentally smashing the expensive instrument. The current one was brand new considering he had thrown the old one against the wall in anger a couple days ago. He didn't like prissy customers.

He gave her neck a quick nipped and stood slightly away from her. Harley regretted being rational when he did so.

"We're continuing this after," he whispered into her ear. She shivered when she felt the warmth of his breath.

She hopped down from the seat and grabbed some paper towels from the table. Crouching she proceeded to wipe at the ink stain as Joker cleaned up some of the materials he had previously used.

Once she was finished cleaning, Harley once again sat on the chair as she watched Joker picked up the tattoo gun from the tray, getting ready to clean it. When he turned around to face the sink, she saw the lack of ink on the small of his back and grinned when an idea came to her.

"Can I do one too?" she asked cheerfully. Seeing the confused look on his face, she explained herself. "Can I tattoo you too?"

His eyes widened in surprise and he let out a loud laugh. "You've never had a tattoo before tonight and now you want to do one?" He lifted one eyebrow in question.

"Yeah!" Harley exclaimed, not seeing any flaw in her plans.

"Do you even know how to draw?" Joker asked incredulously.

"You can draw it and I can do it," Harley quickly responded without a thought.

He stared at her unbelievingly and then let out another long loud laugh. She was as amusing as they come. Since he first laid eyes on her that night, he knew that it would be one great night.

He opened his eyes to look at her now pouting face and couldn't help but smirk at how sexy yet innocent it looked on her. "It's only fair," she mumbled out.

After a second, he decided to amuse her and nodded his head. "Alright, toots, you're right. It's only fair." The brilliant smile that spread on her face let him know that he had said the correct words. He chuckled. "I swear, if you weren't so crazy, I would think you were insane." It surprised even him just how quickly he agreed to her crazy idea.

Harley giggled. "What can I say? I'm the Harley Quinn to your Joker," she joked, making a funny out of her real name.

"That you are, Harls." He liked that nickname a lot. Harley Quinn. "Now what would you like on my tat?"

* * *

Harley pushed Joker onto the mattress, crawling on top of him a moment later. She hissed when he suddenly flipped them over so he was now overtop of her.

"Can't be on my back yet, babe. Still a bit tender," he said as he pinned down both of her hands over her head.

Directly after doing his tattoo, they had gotten into another heated position. Instead of almost destroying his pristine shop, they had decided to take their escapades to a different location. The alcohol from the bar had almost left their systems, but they deemed it a good idea to stop by another liquor depot before arriving at the hotel they were presently in. The bottle of rum was almost completely gone.

Harley let out a small whine but stopped when she felt his knee rub up against her and instead continued to rock her hips into his leg as he nipped his way up her neck. Her hands tore at the base of his shirt. She wanted it off quickly.

Giving into her, Joker moved away from her for a moment in order to yank off his shirt. He threw it off into some unknown direction then looked down at Harley expectantly. As if reading his mind, she flipped herself onto her belly and moved her long hair out of the way.

Seeing the zipper, Joker slowly unzipped it as if unwrapping his present. Her bare back was unveiled to him and he sucked in a breath when the red of her undergarments were revealed. The globe of her ass stuck out and he couldn't help but smack it.

Harley let out a yelp in surprise, which turned into a moan when she felt his other hand cup her breast. Shuffling out her dress, it fell to the ground forgotten. He gave her breast a squeeze then teased her hardening nipple through her thin bra. He rolled it between his fingers and gave it a quick tug before releasing it.

A laugh ripped out of him when he heard her frustrate growl.

"You want me to continue?" he asked, bending around her body to nip at her ear.

"Yes, please," Harley begged. She remained on all fours, but shoved her butt back into his crotch. She could feel him hard under his jeans and continued to rub herself on him.

"Such a naughty girl aren't you?" he said with a raspy voice. "You want to be punished?"

Harley tossed a glance over her shoulder and gave him a heated glance. "Punish me, daddy."

She watched as his eyes darkened with lust. He let out a sultry growl and quickly reached over to unhook her bra, letting it fall to the bed. Pulling at her waist, he positioned her so that her legs were on the ground and her top half was hanging off the side of the bed.

Harley snuck a peak over her shoulders at him about to ask what he was doing when she felt his hand connect with her buttocks. She cried out from the pain, but felt herself get wetter regardless. The second smack connected and elicited a loud moan from her.

Joker dragged a finger along her clothed slit and felt the dampness of her underwear. "Get off on a little pain, don't you?" He smacked her bottom again and smirked as he felt her underwear get wetter. Feeling his jeans suddenly getting a lot tighter, he ground his erection against her and was pleased when she let out a mewl.

"Ple-please," Harley whimpered. She wanted more than just teasing touches. She wanted what was underneath his jeans, even though it felt so good rubbing against her..

"Well since you asked so nicely." Joker hooked his finger on the side of her flimsy underwear and pulled down.

He saw the glistening of her folds and didn't resist the urge to stroke it with one finger. Harley whimpered under him as he continued to tease her.

Without warning, he thrust a single digit inside of her. Crying out from the sudden intrusion, her voice echoed loudly in the small hotel room. Joker continued to pump his finger inside of her, hearing her panting intensify as he did.

"Mo-re," Harley gasped out. It felt so good, but she wanted more. More friction, more pleasure, more of him.

He continued to pump her with one digit. The only hint of him hearing her plea was the fact that he bent over to roughly palm her breast with his free hand. He lightly grazed her tattoo and she sucked in a breath. Looking down at her quivering figure, he smirked when he saw her hands fisting at the sheets underneath her. She looked like she was having so much fun. To finally oblige her, he added in a second digit.

Harley's mind went blank when she felt him stretch her walls farther. He increased the speed on his fingers and pinched one of her nipples hard. In her lower stomach, she felt something winding tighter and tighter. As he continued his ministrations, she panted out his name as a mantra.

His hand moved from her breast and languidly made its way down her torso, dragging his nails on her sensitive skin as he did so. Finding the pearl that hid under her slick folds, he circled it slowly. A smirk stretched wide on his lips when her voice hitched at the sudden stimulation. However, he was pleased that it didn't stop her from continuing to pant out his name into the sheets.

A couple more pumps and he pinched down on her clit.

Harley screamed out his name as she came over his hand. When she collapsed onto the bed with her ass still in the air, he removed his fingers from her. He could see her juices coating his fingers. Feeling her eyes on him, he looked down to see her laying on one side of her head still panting from her orgasm. Her eyes didn't leave him as he brought his soaked fingers to his lips and leisurely licked them clean.

"Fucken sweet, toots," he said in a deep voice after he tasted her. A tired smile plastered itself onto her face and Harley moaned when she felt herself get turned on from the erotic sight.

Seeing the wetness dribble down the inside of her thigh, Joker stroked her thigh with one hand and used the other to undo his belt buckle. The sparkle in Harley's eyes as he undid his jean button and unzipped it made him laugh. She looked as happy as a kid in a candy store, well if she wasn't butt naked.

Pulling down his boxers and jeans, he let out a content sigh when his member sprang free. "That feels so much better," he said. After the show Harley just gave him, he felt like he was being crushed to death by his jeans. He felt his ego enlarge when Harley glanced at his member and couldn't help but lick her lips. "Can't let you have all the fun, now can we?"

He gave himself a couple of pumps with his hand before aligning himself with her entrance. Harley lifted herself on her elbows and looked over her shoulder in anticipation. She saw the mischievous glint in Joker's eyes before he harshly thrusted into her.

"Oh my g-!" she yelled as he pounded into her long and fast.

Not giving her any adjustment time, Joker listened to her moans and excited yells as he thrusted into her in a steady rhythm. He felt Harley try to match his movements by moving her hips backwards at just the right moment. He tossed his head back at how good it felt and saw the mirror across from them. In it, he could see Harley's face contorted in pleasure, her mouth parted.

He smirked when an idea came to him. Quickly pulling out of her, he laughed when Harley whined in frustration. "Move to the center of the bed."

For a moment, Harley gave him a confused gaze, but soon began crawling on all fours across the bed. Joker licked his lips when he saw her ass wiggle as she did so. When she was positioned at the center of the bed, he climbed on and sat on his haunches directly behind her. He grabbed onto her hips and pulled her towards him. "Sit on it," he told her.

Slowly, Harley shifted backwards and gasped when she felt the tip of his member against her entrance. She wanted so bad to quickly sit on it, but his grip forced her to feel as each inch entered her. Her eyes were closed when she finally took him all in. She felt so full inside. It was like he was fitted perfectly for her. She could feel him in all the right places.

Harley moved as Joker pumped her hips up and down. Her voice raised in octaves as he quickened his thrusts. In this new position, she could feel him deeper in her as he thrusted up.

She felt a hard yank on her hair and she bent her head over her shoulder just in time to feel Joker's lips harshly collide with hers. He nibbled on her lips before letting her go and turning her head forward. "Look at how sexy you look, Harls," he all but purred.

When she opened her eyes, she took in their naked forms in the full length mirror across from them. She had been too busy previously to notice the reflections. She could see the way her hips moved wantonly and took in his hard member. Her lips were parted as she yelled out his name and her cheeks were flushed. Behind her, she watched as Joker's muscles moved to thrust up into her.

She felt herself become wetter at the view. Never had she seen the face she had when having sex. It was embarrassing and a complete turn on at the same time.

At one particularly hard thrust, she felt him hit a sweet spot inside of her. "Oh Puddin'!" she yelled out into the hotel.

Just then, there was pounding on the wall and a muffled, "Shut up!" was yelled from the other room.

Behind her, she could hear Joker laugh loudly. "Looks like we have an audience, kitten. How about we give them a show?"

Harley's laughter faded into loud moans as Joker thrusted into her faster than before. With each thrust, she felt the familiar tightening in her belly. She steadied her hands on his thighs and began clawing into his skin.

She heard Joker's grunt from behind her and then felt his lips on her shoulder. He began to suck on her sensitive skin allowing a red mark to surface. "You're close," he said, feeling her tighten around him.

"Ye-. Oh go-. Yes!" she yelled out, her eyes closing. The pounding on the wall continued to get louder, but neither of them cared.

"You on the pill?" he asked quickly. She fervently nodded at him. "Good."

She was so close that it began to hurt. Just then, she felt teeth on her shoulder. Her eyes flew open when she felt the sharp pain of Joker's bite. "Puddin'!" she yelled out as she felt him thrust inside of her and the coil snapped. Lights flashed in her vision as her orgasm rushed through her.

Joker thrusted into her a few more times and buried himself deep inside of her before stilling. He let out a grunted version of her name before spilling his seed into her.

Spurt after spurt filled her and Harley felt her orgasm lengthen at the feeling. Still connected, both fell on their sides spent from their activities. The pounding on the wall had finally stopped.

Harley mewled at the feeling of him withdrawing from her. Reaching between her legs, she moaned when she felt the sticky substance dribbling out of her. That was the best sex she'd ever had. Joker moved inside of her like he knew all her nooks and crannies.

She shifted herself so she was facing him. Her vision was still hazy from the alcohol and physical workout, but she smiled when she saw his satisfied blue eyes. Moving to straddle him, she leaned forward and captured his lips in a lazy kiss. Joker ran his hands down her curves as he kissed her back.

"That was great," Harley praised as she shuffled out of his hold and shakily stood beside the bed.

"Where are you going?" Joker questioned as he sat up on his elbows.

Turning around to face him, Harley said, "Shower. I feel sticky."

She made it halfway to the bathroom, before she felt Joker tug on her arm. Before she knew it, her back was against a wall and she was staring at his face again. "Ah ah ah," he said, "What's the use of getting clean when I'm going to make you messy all over again?"

The predatory look in his eyes made Harley shiver. She glanced down his body and saw that he was still erect. Her body automatically became hot.

Seeing the sparkle in her eyes, Joker quickly cupped her ass and lifted her against the wall. Her legs automatically wrapped around his waist, feeling his erection between her legs, and collided their lips in a hard kiss.

Neither paid any attention when Harley's leg kicked out and the vase beside them went crashing onto the floor. By the end of the night, the neighbours would know Joker's name.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hi y'all! Thanks so much for the reviews. They just absolutely make my day!_

 _To tell you the truth, I'm not so sure where this story is going but we shall see what direction it takes. I sincerely hope that seeing these two in such a mundane setting doesn't make them seem any less crazy since the spontaneity was what attracted me to the couple to begin with._

 _Please let me know what you guys think by leaving a review. Thank you for the support and enjoy! :D_

* * *

Joker blinked back to reality, his eyes focusing back on the bright blues of Harley's. Amusement filled her countenance and he couldn't help but return the smirk that she flashed at him.

Her face was more attractive than he remembered it previously with her wavy blonde hair and red painted lips. Flashes of last night went through his head and in a matter of seconds, he could feel his pants beginning to tighten. It didn't help that the woman seemed to have seen the smoulder in his eyes and was now licking her spoon leisurely as if to temp him. It didn't matter whether it was deliberate or not because tempt him they did. He could think of something better to lick with that pretty pink tongue of hers.

"Excuse me?" He heard an annoyed voice call out to him, snapping him out of his revere. It wasn't until he tore his eyes away from the captivating woman on the couch that he realized that a brunette stood in front of him with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her delicate features. "If you could stop eye fucking each other for just a minute, I have a bone to pick with you," she nearly growled at him.

His eyes drifted from the furious woman to Flag who stood a couple meters away with an apologetic look on his face and then back to Harley who continued to stare at him in amusement. A coy smile still twisted on her lips.

"Hey!" June yelled at him and waved her hand in front of his face. When his eyes shifted back to her, she began her onslaught of a lecture. "You said that you would keep her safe! In what world does safe mean getting her a tattoo? How in the world did you guys even get to a tattoo artist at that time of night?"

Half way through, Joker zoned out of the high pitched screaming. What was this woman going on about? She made it seem as if Harley was the only victim to the alcohol hazed night. Anger began to boil in his blood. He did not need this added to the already pounding hangover he had. Joker opened his mouth to retort when a sweet voice cut him off.

"June," Harley called out as she got up from the couch, "You can't blame him for what happened."

The exasperated woman turned to face her friend. "What do you mean I can't blame him? He let you get a tattoo, Harleen."

Joker couldn't help but watch as Harley's long legs crossed the small apartment, his anger dispersing immediately. His breath hitched when he remembered how those wrapped around his hips countless times last night as he continuously pounded into her. Damn, this woman would kill him just by being in the same room.

He did nothing but watch as she stood a foot away from him. A smirk formed on her lips when her eyes drifted up and down his person before settling on his face.

"Actually," Harley said slowly, suddenly remembering everything, "He was the one who did the tattoo." The black ink that was etched on her skin was something he did recognize. He was surprised how well it turned out even though he was inebriated when he had needled it.

"That makes him even more responsible for it," June nearly yelled.

Harley shrugged in response and reached for the hem of Joker's tank top. He didn't stop her when she began to lift it to reveal the skin of his stomach and relished in the feeling of her hands when she began to run them along his taut muscles. Her eyes glittered with fascination as she traced over the smile tattoo. Without her having to say it, Joker turned around in her arms so that she had a full view of his back. He had chalked up the slight back pain he had since he woke up to the rigorous exercise from last night, but now he remember exactly what it was from.

Hiking his shirt up even higher, Harley ran her hands along the scratches that trailed down his back from her feverish clawing. However, scratch marks weren't the only novelty to grace his back for there was reddening skin and dark black ink on his lower back. Behind her, she could hear June gasp and Flag curse. On Joker's lower back, there was a large tattoo of one word, "Puddin'," with only a small crown resting on the P.

"Can't exactly blame only him when I ended up tattooing him as well," Harley said meekly. She couldn't believe that he had let her do it in the first place. He must have been crazy. For her first tattoo, it didn't end up being too bad. The lines weren't as smooth as the one on her skin, but the tattoo was still detailed and legible.

June remained quiet as she took in the ink. There was no denying that it had been Harley who had done the tattoo. She was the only one who would be crazy enough to tattoo her favourite dessert on a man. Dragging her feet, she collapsed on the couch. This was all her fault for letting get in the cab together.

"How did it turn out?" The deep baritone threw Harley off and she didn't realized until a couple of seconds passed that she had yet to hear him talk at all this morning. His voice didn't sound as husky as it did last night, but she knew it was still enough to make most women swoon.

"It ain't so bad, Puddin', thanks for letting me do it," she responded with a wide smile as she let go of the shirt.

Turning back around, Joker smirked down at the woman. "It was only fair." He reached out to graze the ink that peeking out of her shirt.

"Aren't you guys even slightly worried about this?" Flag's voice rang throughout the apartment.

When the pair turned to look at their friends, they realized that Flag was now standing next to the couch where June sat completely defeated.

They glanced at one another and laughed. For some reason, it didn't seem to bother them. After Harley's initial freakout, she had began to accept the situation and realized that she didn't mind the tattoo so much. It's not like it was the first time some drunk young adult had gotten a tattoo spontaneously. For Joker, it was the first time he had ever gotten a tattoo without careful thought about the content, but it didn't bother him as much as it should have. Perhaps it was the easy smile of the woman that made the situation a little less alarming.

"It's so cliched. I thought I had more pizzaz than that, but heck it was a fun night. Wasn't it, toots?" Joker cackled which was joined soon after by Harley's giggle.

June and Flag looked on at the scene with confusion. How could they both laugh at something so permanent? They both should be freaking out and trying to find a way to fix this mess instead of maniacally laughing.

They both knew that their friends weren't exactly normal, but usually they were more reserved around people that they only knew for a night. What in the world was happening?

* * *

Later that day, Joker entered his shop slightly less frustrated than he was prior to leaving. After the whole tattoo business was resolved, he had the pleasure of chatting with Harley. The woman was an oddity in the best of ways. So much like him in the fact that the impromptu ink work didn't worry her in the least, but so different in the cheerfulness of her countenance. She kept on smiling and chatting with him about what had happened the prior night, comparing what they could remember and piecing together the hours that they spent together. Conversation with her was easy, and coming from someone who rarely talked to people, that was saying a lot.

As he walked into his room, he couldn't help the smirk that slipped onto his face as he remembered exactly what had happened there just half a day ago. He really wanted a repeat of that, which was precisely why he had asked for and acquired her phone number before he left the apartment. He earned a couple of glares from June and an exasperated look from Flag, but none of that matter since Harley had given the digits to him with a large smile.

It was late in the afternoon when Frost entered his room. "Boss, Flag is here to see you," he promptly said and exited without another word.

Being just done with a client, Joker cleaned up and walked out to meet his friend. The man was sitting in the waiting area with his hands clasped together. "What are you doing here, Flag?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. He could guess that this was probably about Harley, but didn't say anything.

"She's not one of them, you know," Flag started, not bothering to get up but looking at Joker directly in the eyes. Instead of responding, Joker continued to stare at him questioningly. "Harley. She's not the typical party girl."

Knowing where it was going, Joker gestured for Flag to follow him outside. He walked a little ways to a secluded area with several cigarette butts laying on the ground and leaned against the brick wall of the building. Taking a cigarette out of his pocket, he offered one to the man who accepted it. Joker lit his own and took a puff before answering. "Are you here because your new girlfriend put you up to it?"

"No," Flag responded, "I'm here cause I can tell that you're interested in her. Or her body at least."

"What makes you say that?" Joker responded unconcerned.

Flag scoffed. "I know you, man. You do this cheeky smirk whenever your trying to get a girl to fall for you, and that girl may be crazy enough to jump. Besides you let her tattoo you, for Pete's sake."

Joker chuckled. "It's your over active imagination, Flag. You've always been a romantic." He didn't make women fall for him. He made women fall in his bed. "And we were drunk. Harls wanted to tattoo so I let her." He shrugged, not giving the permanent ink much thought.

Running a hand through his hair, Flag took another drag before speaking. "Look man, regardless of what happened last night, she's an extremely diligent woman." Joker scoffed at that comment. There were definitely somethings that she could do that weren't so innocent. "She's in medical school and volunteers at a children's orphanage, and -"

"And she's June's best friend. And if I fuck Harley again and break her heart, you may never get your chance with June." Joker finished for him. There was no way Flag would come all the way to his shop just to tell him off Harley. There was always an ulterior motive.

Flag stared at him wide eyed for a moment and then sighed. "June's great. She different from the others. I want an actual shot with her, please don't try to complicate it. It was a total fluke that we even him. But I'm serious about Harley being different. Her and June aren't like us."

He was being vague, but Joker knew what he meant. The girls weren't messed up like they were. With the things they had seen, of course they would be messed up. Apparently him more so than Flag.

Finishing his cigarette, Joker threw it on the ground and crushed it under his foot. "Fine," he agreed. "I won't call her." Bros before hoes right. Shame. Their bodies were so compatible. He doubted he would be able to find anyone who was able to do half of the positions she could.

Mirroring Joker's action, Flag stomped out his own cigarette and followed Joker back into the shop. "That's not what I mean. If you want to call her, call her. Just don't pump and dump like you always do."

Joker turned around to face him, an thin green eyebrow cocked and a smirk on his face. There is no way that would ever happened. Besides all that, he already pumped her. He just wanted to do it again. And maybe again.

"I won't call her," he repeated before turning away and calling out to the next customer effectively ending the conversation with Flag.

* * *

A week passed and Joker kept his promise to not call Harley. Work had kept him pretty busy, so he didn't really have enough time to wonder about the blonde bombshell. It was late that evening when all of his workers had already gone home that he heard a knock on the front door of his shop.

Putting down the receipts he was fiddling with, he walked towards the front lobby to tell off the potential customer, and was surprised to see Harley standing in front of the glass door waving to him with a small smile on her lips. He hesitated for a second and then drifted closer to the door, unlocking it for her.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" he smirked at the woman as he moved out of the way to let her in.

When she remained quiet for almost a minute, Joker became concerned. Even with his limited experience, he was pretty sure the woman was never this quiet ever. He watched as she dragged her feet towards one of the waiting chairs and slumped in it. Her eyes were unblinking and her face neutral.

Not knowing what to do, he took a seat beside her. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. What was he supposed to do? Give her a hug? Pat her back? He was at a complete loss since this was the first time a woman had come to his looking totally dejected. Anger he could handle, considering how many women have yelled at his face for sneaking out of the bedroom and never calling back. Maybe this was her being mad at him for not calling.

Harley finally turned her head towards him, her eyes slightly watery. "Puddin'!" she cried and threw her hands around him. "I was in my room and then there were noises in the apartment." Joker put a hand around her and patted her back, urging her to go on. Did someone break into her home? "So I went out into the living room and realized that the sounds were coming from June's room. I tiptoed closer and thought that maybe there were robbers in her room. Suddenly there was a bang against her door. I was so scared. I almost busted into her room until I heard a moan."

"A moan?" Joker repeated slightly confused.

"A moan. A moan that sounded like Rick's name," Harley said slightly panicked her face contorted in horror.

Blinking a few times, Joker looked down at her. There were small wells of tears in her eyes and her cheeks were slightly red from remembering the scenario. The concern etched on his face changed to one of amusement. Harley felt the shaking of his body under her hands and could hear the loud laugh that he let out.

Looking at his smiling face, she swatted his arm and pulled away of his grip. "It's not funny!" she yelled. She had honestly been so scared that her roommate may have been in trouble.

"They were having sex," he replied through his chuckles. "It's just sex, Harls."

She crossed her arms over her chest and puffed out her cheeks. "I know, I know. But, you weren't the one that heard them pounding away against the door. It's even worse when you know its your best friend in there." She had ran out of that apartment so fast that she had left even her keys behind.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry. That's not exactly the best thing to hear," he said trying his best to stifle his laughter. Harley continued to pout. "This can't be the first time you've heard her going at it."

Harley covered her ears and cringed. "Ugh, don't say that! I can hear and picture them now."

"Come on, toots," he drawled and sat back in the chair. He smirked when he remembered something. "They were just trying to give you a show like you did to those hotel patrons."

A slight blush came to Harley's cheeks, but it disappeared as fast as the mischief in her eyes appeared. "Don't get all cocky, Mr. J. Those neighbours knew my name by the end of that night as well."

He had to bite his tongue to keep from responding. They were flirting and this was no way to keep her at a distance. "So what are you doing here?" he asked instead.

"I don't know. I kind of just ran out of there without thinking. I was wandering around and saw the shop name and that the light was on. I had nothing better to do," she shrugged. "If you're busy, I can get going."

She was giving him an out. He still remembered his promise to Flag, and he had no intention of calling her, but he never said anything about her coming to see him. Harley looked at him expectantly and he couldn't help but smirk back. "I could use some company while I wrap up some of the papers, if you care to help me out."

Harley beamed. "I don't mind helping you, Puddin'. Not like I can get into the apartment now anyways."

Getting up from the seat, she followed after Joker who walked her to the small office which had papers piled high on the desk. When she mouthed the word "wow," Joker laughed. "This is what happens when not one woman works for you," Joker said to her obvious question.

"I can see that I arrived right on time then," Harley giggled as she took hold of one of the many papers.

For the next couple hours, they sat around the table and balanced the books. The only reason it had taken so long was because more than half the time, they had to dive into the piles of reports to find the information they needed. These should have been organized by month, which it clearly wasn't. The hours ticked by in oddly comfortable conversation between the two making Harley forget about her earlier panic.

Once all of the amounts were tallied, Harley stretch back in her chair. Suddenly, her stomach grumbled and she looked at the wide eyed Joker sheepishly. They burst out laughing at the interruption.

"Come on," Joker said putting away the last of the reports, "Let's get some food. My treat as thanks. What would you like to eat?"

Her eyes sparkled in glee at the premise of food. "I don't know any places around here," she confessed. Other than work, home and school, she really hadn't done much exploration of the city she lived in.

"You like burgers?" She nodded wildly. "I've got the perfect place then."

They walked out of the shop together and Harley waited as Joker closed and locked the store. He lead her a couple blocks down the street to a little hole in the wall type of restaurant.

"I know it doesn't look like much," Joker said, "But I promise they make the best burgers in town."

"I shall see about that," Harley replied as she walked into the door as Joker held it open for her. He was more of a gentleman than she first thought.

Inside, Harley could see the row of booths that lined the window and the small bar on the other wall. It looked quaint and comfortable. Joker tipped his head in greeting to the bartender and followed Harley as she sat down in one of the booths.

A server came to greet them and when she asked what they want to order, Harley looked at Joker expectantly. She had no idea what was the best here.

"Two cheeseburgers, medium rare. And two beers," he told the waitress. Harley didn't miss the sultry look that the waitress gave Joker or the way woman's eyes glared at her for a fraction of second before she turned away to put in the order.

When the waitress was out of earshot, Harley turned her attention to Joker. "She totally hates my guts," she giggled.

"Don't worry about it. Since I've been coming here, she's been not so subtly flirting with me. She thinks that if she keeps flashing her cleavage at me that at some point I'd get desperate enough to ask her out." He hadn't even taken the time to get to know the server's name.

The laugh that escaped Harley made Joker smile. "I do feel sorry for all the ladies that have gotten that glare of hers."

"You're the first one I've brought here, other than the guys," Joker mumbled.

At those words, Harley froze in her seat. A blush rose to her face. He didn't realize the weight of his words until he saw the pink on her cheeks.

"I mean, I've been a bit to preoccupied with work to really go out lately," he blurted out. He didn't need her thinking that this was anything more than two acquaintances eating together.

A small smile was still on Harley's face, but he could see the slight disappointment in her eyes which she covered up a second later. "Don't worry, Puddin'. I know you don't mean anything by asking me out to dinner. As inexperienced as I am, I understand that not getting a call from you for a week means that you only want to be friends. Unless the wait three days rule has suddenly changed to seven days."

There was a little pang of guilt that resounded in his chest when he heard the words, something that Joker was definitely not used to. He didn't feel guilt ever. He always did as he pleased without much of a care. He didn't owe her an explanation nor was she asking for one. Though when it came to this woman, he wanted to at least explain why he hadn't called.

Leaning forward, he looked into her baby blue eyes. "You have no idea how much I would have loved to get better acquainted" his eyes drifted to her chest and back up to her heated face "with you again, but Flag was a little concerned about your well being. If I was to call, there is a possibility that one of us might end up enamoured, and to tell you the truth, I'm not the best choice when it comes to a relationship, Harls. Especially not with someone who is studying to be a doctor. You have qualifications that are not to be wasted on a tattoo artist, toots."

Harley stared at him for a moment, absorbing the words. She should be touched that someone had thought about the possibility of her catching feelings and getting hurt. "So I wasn't bad in bed?" she asked, her lips pursed in thought.

It was Joker's turn to look at her confused. He let out a laugh loud enough to even make the other customers turn in his direction. Out of all the things he said, that was what she had gotten from it? This woman was odd to say the least. She continued to stare at him expectantly so he decided to answer her.

"No, babe, you were great. And quite flexible might I add. I thought we were quite..." He tried to look for the word that would perfectly explain it.

"Compatible." Harley finished for him, a meek smile on her lips. Joker tipped his head in agreement and she laughed. "Thank goodness I wasn't the only one who thought that. It felt so good, I couldn't stop thinking about it. But, perhaps, not getting involved any further is a better choice. Maybe you would have sexed your way into my heart." She laughed at the thought

His eyes widened at her bluntness. He wasn't used to someone being as straightforward as he was. When she pulled her lower lip to chew on, he couldn't help it when his eyes drifted to her lips and his member jolted slightly.

"So, if it wasn't for Rick, you would have called?" Harley asked. Her voice sounded lyrical as she said it and her eyes were smouldering. With her lip curled in a smile, she looked like a siren who was tempting him into the deep end of the ocean. Joker's eyes widened in surprise for a fraction of second before he met her playful gaze with a smirk.

Well, he'd be damned. Regardless of her innocent demeanour, Harley was undoubtedly flirting with him and on purpose too. A naive temptress.

At that moment, he realized that perhaps Flag had been right to warn him off. She was clearly interested in him and regardless of his calm disposition, he was very interested in her. A part of him yearned to forgo his promise to Flag and instead see the untamed nature that she showed him glimpses of.

Deciding not to answer her question, they fell into a comfortable silence when the waitress came back with their food and drinks. After she set the plates down in front of them, he dismissed her and picked up the beer.

"Since our friends are dating, how about we let bygones be bygones. Friends?" Joker asked.

Harley smiled and picked up her drink to clink it against his in a toast. "Friends," she repeated though the playful look in her eyes never ceased.

This was best for both of them. He had very little friends, but he hoped that her holding that label would at least trick his mind into thinking her unavailable. Though the way she smiled at him slyly and took a slow sip of her drink made him think that perhaps it was a lost cause.

Harley moaned wantonly as she took the first bite of her burger and licked the sauce from her lips. Perhaps it was a very lost cause.

* * *

Two hours later, Joker pushed Harley up against the door of his apartment, their lips intertwined and fighting for dominance.

After their meal, they had remained in the diner and chatted about his work and her studies. The conversation was easy as it always was between the two, but soon the single beer turned into several. They were no where near as inebriated as they were before, but the alcohol still affected their ability to stay within the newly built walls of friendship. Sooner than either expected, teasing comments were said and flirtatious gestures were made. They had departed from the diner eager for the privacy of his apartment.

Joker growled in frustration when the key missed the keyhole for what felt like the millionth time. Pulling his lips off of Harley's, he turned his gaze to his hand and successfully unlocked the door. A groan was ripped out of him when he felt Harley's lips suck along the side of his neck.

Twisting the knob, he pushed her through the door and pressed her against it once it shut behind them. A moan hit his ears when he ground his hardening member against her. Harley immediately wrapped her legs around him just as he picked her up by her butt.

Looking up into her eyes, he saw the lust swirling in them, very much like it was the first night they met. A smile formed on her face. A smirk stretched on his lips before he leaned forward and captured her lips with his. He felt her nibble on his lower lip as her hands began to pull at the shirt he wore.

Making sure that she was secured around his waist, he walked with her in his arms towards the nearby couch. Their tongues still battling, he took a seat on the leather loveseat with her in his lap. With his hands free, Joker slipped his arms out of the shirt Harley was currently trying to rip off of him. She detached her lips from his for a second to pull the shirt over his head.

Harley took in his toned body and ran her hands along the hard muscles. She bit her lip as she felt something in her stomach flutter. Looking back at his eyes, she suddenly felt conscious about what they were about to do.

"Are you sure we should-" Joker cut her off with a kiss "do this?"

"Do what?" he asked before he nipped at her neck and fisted the material of her thin shirt.

Harley lifted her hands over her head as Joker yanked the shirt off of her and threw it behind the couch. "Sex. Oh goodne-" Her words were replaced by a moan when Joker palmed her breast through her bra. Noticing the tattoo that he had etched onto her perfect skin, he took a moment to kiss the still tender flesh. He could tell that she was taking good care of the area since the ink remained dark and without scab marks.

"We're adults. We can have sex," Joker said and unhooked her bra, letting it fall from her torso. He sucked in a breath as he took in her rosy nipples. With a thumb, he grazed it lightly and growled when she let out a loud moan.

Her breathing hastened when she felt his tongue flick at her nipple. "But friends," she moaned out.

She was the voice of reason trying her best to persuade both of them to stop their actions at that moment. They had decided that this wasn't something they should be doing only just a couple of hours ago and already they were at it again. Her words fell on deaf ears as her own hands betrayed her and reached to unbuckle the belt of Joker's pants.

"Friends can fuck," he growled against her breast. Feeling the vibration course through her, Harley could hardly argue against him but she was sure that friends did not do these sorts of things.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked pulling his member from its confines and stroking the flesh.

Joker hissed. "Nope," he answered truthfully, but still used his free hands to unbutton her jeans. He needed them off. "Are you?

Harley stared into his heated eyes and a wide smile spread on her lips as he smirked at her. "Nope," she answered before capturing his lips in a searing kiss. "Should we stop?"

"Hell no," she heard him grunt.

Her body heated up from his touches, and her mind blanked. She would deal with the repercussions of their choices another time. Tonight, she wanted this.


	4. Chapter 4

It was early morning when Harley came out of her deep sleep sore but content. She went into a panic when she couldn't move from her position in bed, but it quickly dissipated when she saw the tattooed arm that draped across her stomach and kept her close to the naked chest behind her. Under the covers, she could feel his legs intertwined with hers.

This was a first for her. Not the sex. She was by no means a nun who practiced celibacy, but she wasn't exactly a philanderer either. What was new was being able to sleep so peacefully beside a man she barely knew and still feel comfortable in his arms.

The few men she had slept with before had been old lovers who she had been dating for at least a month before they ever even set foot into a bedroom. With them, she had been too modest and would usually show very little emotion during or after the act since she was afraid of shattering the pristine image that they had of her. She would never stay the night worried that she may snore in her sleep or worse yet drool all over their pillows.

But with Joker, it was different. The first night they had met wasn't exactly the best first impression of her. She had been wasted. The morning after, she had forgotten his face until he miraculously appeared in front of her. Then there was the no-call for a week then her sudden appearance at his shop. There circumstances for being friends was rather odd, and it surprisingly fit them. The thought made her smile until something occurred to her.

Friends. _Friends._ Her and Joker were suppose to stay friends, but dammit they had managed to mess that up in less than a couple of hours. Goodness, they needed to learn how to keep their hands off each other or else this was going to end up with someone getting hurt. And considering how fond she already was of Joker, it was probably going to be her.

Behind her Joker shifted and pulled her body closer to him. Harley bit her lip when she felt his morning wood press against the crevice of her ass so perfectly that she could practically feel herself wetting from the thought of what that appendage did to her last night. Ugh, she was in a middle of a panic attack and she was still thinking about turning around and giving his member a good morning with her mouth. She had to be insane.

Regardless of what Joker had said during the blur that was the previous night, this was so not how friends acted.

They had had sex twice. Well actually, on two occasions. As for how many rounds they went...it was a lot more than two. Anyways, this wasn't the time to get distracted. She had to make her get away before the arguing voices in her head pushed her towards staying where she was currently curled up beside him.

She remained still for the couple minutes not wanting to wake him up. When Joker turned in his sleep, he didn't move his arm but loosened the hold that he had on her. Without lingering on what she should do next, Harley gently lifted his arm and slipped out of the bed covers. If she remained in the bed that had his scent all over it for a second longer, she knew she would never leave.

When she fully stood, she quietly tiptoed around the room stopping ever so often to make sure that the gorgeous man in the bed didn't wake. She gathered her clothes that had littered the bedroom floor and parts of the living room. Her underwear was no were in sight and after a minute of searching, she gave up and shimmied into her jeans. It would be uncomfortable to wear but what other choice did she have.

As each article of clothing was hastily put on, her head was torn about what she was doing. One side yelled at her and asked why she was getting ready to leave. What was so bad about having sex with Joker? It wasn't like she was a child who needed others permission. They were both consenting adults who were just having fun between the sheets. So much fun. He was perfect for her in every which way, but she wasn't silly enough to fantasize that sex meant more to him than just sex. And with her own busy schedule, she hadn't even entertained the thought of having a relationship. It would all end in tragedy if they didn't stay away from each other.

But friends, they could be friends.

The other side of her brain was telling her to run. She didn't care that her friends had warned her about Joker's playboy ways. She had know it since the moment she saw him. He was panty-dropping hot and his bad-boy image just helped to propel things further. Who wouldn't want a piece of that pale, tattooed man? She just felt so guilty about going behind their friend's backs. June would be furious if she found out, especially after the tattoo incident.

Harley ran her fingers over the tattoo absentmindedly. She shouldn't feel so torn about this. It wasn't like she was never going to see him again, they would still hang out as friends especially with Rick and June dating. And besides, she didn't know him for very long, so why did it feel like she was covering up a piece of herself.

Suddenly, her phone pinged loudly and she nearly dove for it in order to decrease the volume. It was a text from June: "Did you come home last night?"

Cursing under her breath, Harley quickly punched out a reply: "Yeah, got in after you fell asleep. I left early today for a seminar."

By the time she got home to change, June would be off to her classes and she would never know where Harley really was. She felt bad sneaking around and resolved to keep the relationship between her and Joker strictly platonic. And this time she would keep this promise to her self. No matter how sexy and sinful and absolutely perfect their personalities and bodies were.

It wasn't going to be hard at all.

Before she headed to the front door, Harley peeked into the bedroom and saw that Joker was still asleep with the bed sheet only covering half his body. It exposed the sharp angle of his chin and the muscles of his arms and back. With back toward the door, the bed sheet was low enough to expose her tattoo on him.

Her attraction for the man was explosive and she felt herself blush at the knowledge of how it felt to be under his body.

It isn't going to be hard at all. Not at all.

* * *

With a groan, Joker woke from his sleep. His first instinct was to reach over to the space beside him and see if Harley was still there. When his arm met the cold bed sheet, he knew she had been gone for a while, which was unsurprising since it was already well into the afternoon. Late night shifts at the shop had him waking up late most days. It was the way of life.

Even though he knew that Harley had school on that day, he still felt a pang of disappointment when there wasn't any sign of her being in his apartment. He checked his phone just in case there was a text from her and was about to check the bedside table for note before stopping in his track.

What the hell was he doing?

It was an amazing night to be sure, but he was acting like a crazy boyfriend when he should be thinking of this as another one night stand. But it wasn't just one night. And it wasn't something that he could easily forget either.

Last night had been carnal. They had torn at each others clothes and flung them in different directions before they even got into the bedroom. Heck, they had already had one round on the couch before they even stepped foot into the bedroom.

And the actual sex. It was demanding and giving, rough and gentle. Sex had never been so good with anyone before. And he had it a lot. Just thinking about it with Harley had him semi-hard.

But why did it have to come with complications. Flag would bury him six feet under if he knew he had banged the only person that he asked him not to. They didn't make it a habit to tell each other who and who not to have sex with, but their were specific people that they had agreed not to sleep with. Sisters and family members were off limits. Friends of their girlfriends, obviously. And girlfriend's friends who were clingy, or the type to want a commitment.

The last one on the list had come around when Joker had slept with a friend of Flag's high school girlfriend from years ago. The sex had been mediocre and Joker didn't feel the need to extend it past a casual fling. The girl however had different ideas and was clingy beyond belief. Since she wasn't getting the message that he wasn't interested, he opted to sleep with another girl to hammer the idea in her head. It wasn't the best option on the plate, but what was to be expected when he was a hormonal teenager. To say she was livid would be an understatement. It eventually lead to Flag's girlfriend pressuring him to stop being friends with Joker, and when he refused had broken up with him.

It wasn't the last time that Joker had majorly messed up and caused an end to one of Flag's otherwise healthy relationships. Why Flag remained loyal to Joker was beyond him.

The last couple of years, he had stayed clear of any women who were even remotely related to Flag and he had done a damn great job at not ruining any of his relationships. At least until Harley.

Flag had warned him away from her since she seemed like the type of woman who wanted more than just a fling. Someone who was innocent and untainted. There was a light about her that shown when she smiled and laughed.

A light that he didn't want to taint.

Flag was right. He was different from her. After years of working for the Marines, there were things that he saw and did that would haunt anyone's dreams. The amount of blood on his hands could easily turn the five oceans red if he washed them in their waters.

He knew better than to keep seeing Harley, and he did a good job of avoiding pressing the call button on his phone for a week. Well, he was doing a good job until she literally showed up on his doorstep. And how could he possibly resist her when she was so tempting in every way.

But resist her he would have to. She was too good for him and regardless of how eager she was to have casual sex with him, she was still someone who deserved a lot more than he could offer. Harley needed a nice man who if she wanted to, she could marry and have a normal life with the two point five kids and the white picket fence included. And like hell he could give her that.

He wasn't a dick to Harley, but he could have a pretty nasty temper if it came down to it. Regardless of it being a woman or man, if they pissed him off, smashed furniture would be the least of their worries. Not to mention the emotional baggage that came with him. Joker shook his head to clear it of such thoughts and steeled his resolve to keep Harley at a distance.

Picking up his discarded jeans, he patted down the pockets in search of his cigarettes and lighter. He had just extracted a stick when he spotted something pink near the foot of his couch. Picking it up, he noticed the soft feel of the fabric and realized it was Harley's bright pink underwear from the previous night. Images of him ripping the offending fabric from her body flashed across his mind and he groaned when his member twitched. The world must hate him to have her leave this behind as a reminder of how great the night had been.

Looking over at his clock, he saw that he had a couple of hours to spare before he had to be at the shop. With a quick debate over what he should do with the flimsy fabric, he grinned widely before making up his mind.

* * *

"Harleen!" Tatsu wave at her from across the hallway. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you all morning."

Harley quickened her pace to meet the straight-faced Asian and smiled at her brightly.

She'd known Tatsu since high school when Digger had randomly introduced her to the friend group. It still surprised her that the self-centered man would go out of his way to make Tatsu feel welcome, but it had initiated the years of friendship with the woman that she would be happy to call sister. When they had both decided to apply for medical school, it had solidified their friendship with 36 hours study marathons and barrels worth of coffee. Regardless of her usual aloofness which was a stark contrast to her own bubbly personality, Tatsu was a kind woman who always lent an ear.

When they were within proximity, Harley hooked her arm in her friend's and led her towards their next class. They had different specializations but they had some overlapping classes.

"So, you never answered my question."

"In class, where else?" Harley said innocently. Their morning classes were not the same and Harley hoped that her friend's sudden curiosity about her whereabouts would magically vanish before she slipped up and mentioned Joker. Tatsu was not motherly like June and she knew that mentioning Joker wouldn't even make the girl bat an eye. She didn't even care when June has recounted the whole tattoo escapade a week ago, but there were somethings that Harley would rather not explain. For a second she saw Tatsu's eyes drift to her neck, but when the woman shrugged and didn't comment, Harley let out a shaky breath knowing her friend had moved on.

They attended class and when the professor dismissed them made their way to the parking lot where Tatsu parked. After most days when their schedules lined up, Tatsu would give her a ride home before heading home.

As they walked, Harley's mind drifted to Joker. Her phone hadn't buzzed all day and regardless of sneaking out of the man's apartment, she would have thought that she was worth a text message. She had perhaps decided, rather reluctantly mind you, that they were better off friends, but she would be lying if she said that just thinking about the night they had together didn't have her blushing.

She suppressed a groan when she thought about how his body was so slick against hers. And how he would whisper naughty words in her ear as he pushed inside her.

"Uhh Harley, are you positive that you were in class early this morning?"

She thanked Tatsu mentally for bringing her out of the dirty thoughts she was having before she began salivating at the thought of Joker's body. "Yeah, of course. I thought we went through this already," she said rather defensively.

"Well its just that," Tatsu paused and pointed to her neck, "there's a dark hickey on your neck. And even though I've never personally seen him," Tatsu shifted her index finger of point at some spotin the parking lot, "I'm pretty sure that is the infamous Joker leaning against a motorbike in the middle of the parking lot and staring directly at you as if he was stripping you down to your bare undies."

In her mortification, Harley clapped a hand to the side of her face. She was about to chew Tatsu out for not mentioning it sooner, but all words caught in her throat when she followed the extended finger to where Joker was indeed leaning against a badass motorbike in a pair of slack black jeans and a leather jacket. As her eyes crawled up his lax figure, they landed on his lips that was pursed around a cigarette and the Aviators that covered his blue eyes.

Her mouth slack, Harley could do nothing but stare at him as he stood and sauntered over to where they were standing. As he walked, Joker finished off the cigarette and tossed it on the ground before stepping on it. Next came his Aviators, which he took off and slipped into his front pocket exposing the dark-blue of his eyes. When he was within a couple feet of Harley he stopped and looked down at her with a smirk on his lips.

"Hey, toots. How's the rest of your day been?"

"Hi..." was the most that Harley could manage as she opened and closed her mouth a couple of times. Apparently her stunned expression amused him since his grin widened considerably. Harley thanked the lords when he turned to introduce himself to Tatsu since it gave her some time to compose herself.

Holding a hand out, Joker shook Tatsu's hand. He was about to introduce himself when Tatsu beat him to it.

"My name is Tatsu. And judging from the tattoos and speechless Harley, you must be Joker."

Joker lifted a thin green eyebrow. "You girls been talking about me? All bad things I hope," he teased as he slid a look a Harley.

"Of course." Tatsu's face was composed as it always was, but her eyes glittered with amusement. "Well, I can see that you guys have some catching up to do from this morning so I will take my leave. It was nice to meet you Joker. I'm sure I'll be seeing more of you around."

As Tatsu gave the slowly recovering Harley a look, she whispered. "Don't worry, I'll keep your secret. No judgement here. Stay safe and tattoo free."

Harley all but gaped at the whispered words and couldn't help but smile when her friend winked at her before walking away, leaving her and Joker alone. In highschool, she never remembered Tatsu so carefree but after years of being with Digger and the squad, it had become more common.

"Hi," Harley repeated again and then took a deep breath before charging into the speech that she had mentally prepared for when she saw him again. "Listen Puddin', I just want to say that what we did last night was a complete mistake and so not what friends do. We were totally out of our heads yesterday with the booze...again. We decided friends, so let's stay friends."

"You're right."

Well that was unexpected. A part of Harley was disappointed in how little Joker fought against her reasoning. When they spent time together, they had fun. But when they were together-together, they were explosive. Her disbelief at his words prompted her to say, "Really?"

Joker's eyes lit up in mischief and his lips spread into his signature grin. "Absolutely. In fact, like a good friend, I brought something that you happened to forget at my apartment."

"I forgot something?" When a small chuckle escaped his lips, Harley realized exactly what she had forgotten. The chaffing she felt in her nether regions reminded her. As he reached into his pocket, she began to protest. "You cannot pull that out here!"

She put her hand out to stop him but before she could, Joke had already pulled out the bright pink item making Harley cover her eyes in anticipation of seeing her undies.

"Why can't I? It's just a lipstick," she heard Joker's mocking voice. Sneaking a peak, she spread her fingers and saw that it was only a tube of her fuchsia lipstick. It must have slipped out her purse without her even noticing.

"Oh, I uhhh-. I thought it was something else..." she mumbled as Joker handed the tube back to her. "Thanks."

"No problemo. Com'on I'll give you a lift home." Joker turned and walked towards his bike not giving Harley enough time to courteously decline his offer.

As she looked down for a moment to slip the lipstick into her bag, she heard Joker call out to her.

"By the way, you also left this under my couch." He sounded as if he was holding in a laugh.

When Harley looked up, her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. As he briskly walked away, Joker was twirling her bright pink thong around his finger like a flag. There was no ignoring the looks that passerbiers gave the thin fabric as Harley bolted across the parking lot to yank it out of Joker's hand. As she reached for it, he would move it higher out if her reach then he would lower it again to her height. Harley was practically climbing his person by the time she snatched the fabric from a hysterically laughing Joker.

She huffed as she stuffed the garment out of sight and fixed her eyes at his now doubted over figure. "It is not funny, Puddin'!"

Joker wiped away tears from his eyes. "Com'on Harls. You got to admit it was pretty good. You totally thought you were in the clear."

Harley bit her lip. Not because she was extremely mad but because she didn't want to smile at his laughing face. She knew Joker could be a scary person when he wanted to be must at the moment, his face was pure joy. Within a second, Harley lost the battle with herself and she laughed along with him.

"You're so mean."

After minutes, their laughter died down and Joker continued to walk towards his bike. Without missing a beat, Harley fell in step with him and put her arm through his.

"Let's grab some food first. I'm starved."

"You didn't eat yet?"

"No, first thought was to come out here and see that blush on your face." Joker chuckled when pink flushed her cheeks.

"Don't kid around like that." Harley lightly hit his arm. It was so hard to figure out if he was joking or sincere most conversations, and lingering on what he said would give her a bit too much hope that there was something more to all this.

A shrug was her only answer as Joker heaved on leg over his bike, started it, and kick the stand up. It was the first time that she had ever seen a bike up close never mind try to ride one so when it was time to mount, Harley stared intently at the seat trying to figure it out. A laugh pulled her out of her very scientific problem solving and she looked up at Joker who was holding out a hand to her. Without hesitation, she took it and Joker positioned it at the side of his waist and nodded his head towards the bike, signalling for her to get on.

One leg over the bike, Harley realized that the bike seat was comfier than it looked. Like her other hand, Harley positioned her hand on the other side of his waist, keeping a distance between her chest and Joker's back.

"Your going to want to get closer, toots," Joker said as he revved the engine. Cautiously, Harley scooted forward and swallowed when her pelvis was flush against Joker's butt, but she still kept her chest slightly tilted away from his back. She was about to keep her hands where they were when she felt Joker's fingers grip and move them to circle his waist. Under the shirt, Harley could feel the ripples of his abs and she stifled a moan. She was just riding a bike not him, she could do this.

"Alright." Joker's voice held a chipper note to it and she could hear the smile on his lips. Oddly enough, she could see his smile clear in her mind.

He let go of the brake and the bike began to move forward rather slowly. Well until he turned onto the main street. The engine began to roar under her and the sudden lurch forward pulled a shriek from her and had her gripping tightly onto Joker's waist, no mind to the fact that her chest was now tightly pressed against his back. It was only when they pulled onto the highway that her fear started to disappear and she enjoyed the ride.

If she could hold onto Joker's body and feel the wind through her hair at the same time, maybe being friends with him wouldn't be such be a bad thing. A smile pulled on her lips and a laugh pulled itself out of her chest.

Just a week ago, she had met him. But she was as comfortable around him as any of the people she had known almost all her life. And surprisingly, the thought didn't frighten her.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi y'all! Finally back with another chapter. Thank you everyone for being so patient and continuing to support this story. I know the updates have been sporadic and some what rare but unfortunately reality just doesn't allow me to write as much as I would like. So with that said, either I continue to update the same as now with the same number of words, or I can update at least once a month but with shorter chapters. They ain't the best things to choose from, but please let me know which one you would prefer in the comments guys._

 _I hope you like this chapter! Please review to show me what you think! :3_

* * *

 _Hey wat u doing?_

 _Not much just watching the game. You?_

 _Boooorrrreeeeddddd._

 _It's Friday, aren't you suppose to be doing some clumsy college girl partying?_

 _Psh, I wish. June banned me from 'excessive drinking' since the last time I drank I apparently had some incredible sex with this green haired stranger. Which is something that is considered bad in her books. But I guess the tattoo didn't help. :/_

 _Hmmm. He sounds like he rocked your world that night and gave you an awesome tat._

 _It was meh._

 _That's just mean. Why you have to bust balls, babe?_

 _Hahaha. Just kiddin, Puddin._

"What you laughing at like an idiot?" Flag's voice cut in just as he typed a response to Harley. Joker didn't even notice Flag had reentered the living room which concerned him tons considering how observant he normally is with his surroundings. "You have a stupid smile on your face. What is it? Funny video?" In fact, he didn't even notice the silly smile that had spread over his face while he conversed with Harley through text. Damn, he seriously needed to watch what he was doing, but there was always something about Harley that made him feel secure even if it is just over the phone.

He pulled an excuse from thin air since his long time friend was now staring at him, waiting for him to answer. "Yeah, cat video." Psh, it wasn't totally untrue. Harley had sent him a video earlier that night of a kitten stumbling down the stairs. He shook his head at the thought. He didn't even know why he bothered to watch it, except that it would make her happy to prattle on to him about how cute it was.

"Hmm," Flag took a swig of his drink. "Never thought you'd watch that stuff. June always sends me those and I never understand their fascination with them."

Joker grunted in response and took a sip of his drink before getting up to grab another bottle from the kitchen.

Normally, they would be out in the city trying to find someone to stay with for the night, but since Flag was now a committed man it wasn't really an option. Today they just opted for sitting in front of the TV sipping beer. Joker didn't even want to complain about it considering he hadn't been in the mood for a night out anyway. Which was rather odd when he thought about it.

Every couple of weeks Joker would take off one Friday from working at the shop and have a little bit of fun. Not like he didn't get numbers or women throwing themselves at him at the shop, in fact being a tattoo artist was apparently the correct job for that. It was just nice to cause havoc in another part of the city and get back a little bit of the excitement he used to have every day on the battle field. Acclimatizing to the city life was hard when war was the only thing you knew for years of your life. Of course there were better ways to go about it than partying, drinking and banging random chicks, but he thought he was doing pretty good compared to some of his counterparts who hadn't managed to elude therapy upon return. Besides, he got to meet Harley this way.

Then again, he hadn't really been going out much lately. If he was ever feeling bored Harley would always pop out of nowhere and make his day a little bit better. She was really becoming a fast friend, and that was saying a lot since he didn't have friends. Last couple of weeks they had been seeing each other a lot more, but damn did it make it hard to resist her.

The day she rode on his bike was the day that he made up his mind to never let anyone else ride bitch to him unless it was Harley. The way her boobs and crotch had melded to his back had given him such a hard on that he had to imagine some weird things to make it go away. Did he learn his lesson from that one ride? Hell, no. When he would pick her up from university or drive her back home, he would always take his bike instead of letting her bus it. Damn he was a sucker for pain.

Just thinking about her had him pulling out his phone. Another message had came while he was lost in thought.

 _Btw June is goin over to Ricks tonight. U comin over?_

Yeah, it was an odd friendship. Flag and June still didn't know they had been continuously seeing each other. It wasn't like they were trying to hide their new found friendship from their best friends, it was just easier that they didn't know. No doubt billions of questions would be cascaded over them and they were both so uninterested in answering them.

 _Wouldn't it be better if you came to my apartment instead? June could be back early tomorrow._

 _Plzzzz when has she ever left Rick alone on a saturday? Besides im feeling comfy on the couch with my large tshirt._

He physically rolled his eyes. _You mean my large T-shirt._

 _I have no idea what ur talkin about._ Joker could practically hear her sass. _Soooo u comin?_

He drank the last of his beer and tossed the bottle in the recycle before typing out a reply. _Okay be there in a bit._

 _Yayyyyy! :D Ya the best._

He had to wipe the grin off his face as he made his way back to the living room. Flag still remained on the couch, exactly where he left him.

"Hey man, I'm heading out. Gotta find some ass for the night. Have a serious itch I have to scratch." Again it wasn't a lie, just too bad the itch wasn't something he was allowed to scratch. Why the hell did he ever agree to be friends with her? He made it so much harder for himself, yet he still couldn't keep away. If he got blue balls from this, he wouldn't be surprised in the least.

"What? Why so soon, game isn't even over yet," Flag said sitting up from his couch.

"Wasn't really into basketball anyways."

"Right." Flag rolled his eyes. "If it doesn't have something to do with guns and cars, your not interested."

"Don't forget crazy chicks." With a chuckle, Joker walked further into the living room. "What's the point of watching TV when there are better things to do. Or...people to do," he smirked. "Besides, June is coming over. Don't want to cock block you in your own apartment."

A quizzical look formed on Flag's face. "How did you know that?"

Shit. "Cause, I can see her car from the window." Joker pointed towards the street and thanked his quick bullshitting for covering his slip.

Flag stood up and walked closer to the window. When he waved at the figure below, Joker knew that is friend believed him. "Yeah, thought she was coming by a bit later."

"No problem. I'm going to go. I'll see you later." He tapped Flag on the shoulder and headed to the door.

He reached for the door and swung it open just in time to see June walking towards the apartment.

A small smile formed on the woman's face. "Hey, J."

He nodded to her in greeting. "Going to get lucky tonight?" He gave her a wink and laughed when a blush came to her cheeks.

"Geez between you and Harley, I can never get a break," she sighed as she made her way past him and into the apartment where Flag stood at the entrance.

After a little bit of time around Joker, June's dislike of Joker began to fade a little bit. It also helped that the permanent damage that was done that night went both ways and that Harley was so relaxed about the whole situation. He learned that regardless of being a tyrant of a mother, June was normally calm and collected. She was still wary around him, but that was to be expected. If he was someone looking in, he probably wouldn't associate with someone like him either.

Who knows why Harley even talked to him, perhaps it was the psychologist inside of her looking for the most damaged mind to peer into. Better not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Have a nice night, guys," Joker said dismissively as he waved over his shoulder.

Hopping on his bike, he kicked up the stand and turned it on. Reeving the engine a couple of times, he took off at a fast speed dodging the traffic on Gotham's streets.

He had somewhere to be and someone waiting for him.

* * *

Harley sat on the couch her eyes fixated on the TV screen as she shoveled the buttery popcorn into her mouth by the handful.

And it was in that exact position with a full mouth and a hand shoved into the popcorn bowl that Joker found her when he opened the door to the apartment.

With wide eyes, Harley turned towards him and struggled to smile with her puffed out cheeks. Her face was so ridiculous that Joker couldn't stop the quickly forming grin on his lips. He cackled as he took off his shoes and jacket as he made his way to the couch. Lifting Harley's legs, which were scattered on the couch as her laid back form took up much of the loveseat's room, Joker took a seat and replaced her legs across his lap.

"How did I know I would find you in this exact position?" he teased as his eyebrow rose in question.

Instead of chewing the rest of the popcorn in her mouth, Harley swallowed the rough mixture and nearly coughed when she felt the prickles of the kernels scratch her throat. "Owwyyy," she whined once her mouth was clear. "Why didn't you knock?"

"Why didn't you lock the door? You never know who might come in at this hour."

A smile spread on Harley's lips and she let out a small laugh. "You're right, never know if a green haired tattoo artist might pop up. I've heard that they have been spotted around this area lately." She shivered in fright dramatically to show that it was all a farce.

"Oh yeah? Sounds like a handsome bugger."

"He's okay," Harley shrugged.

Joker did nothing more than hum. There was split second notice before Joker pounced and grabbed onto her sides. Before she could get away, there were tingling feelings crawling up her spine that stopped any retreating movement as he tickled her.

"Want to say that again, toots?" Joker coaxed as he looked down at her laughing face.

Tears began to form at the corners of her eyes before Harley gathered her breath enough. "Okay! Okay!"

"Say it."

"He's..." she let out a laugh, "the green haired riffraff is a handsome bugger. Now stop before I spill the popcorn!"

Abruptly, Joker receded and took up the same position he was originally in.

With a giggle, Harley sat back up and checked that her precious bowl of popcorn was still intact, to her glee it was. "Well someone is craving for a compliment," she poked at his side, "Just be glad you didn't spill my popcorn, Mr. J."

"That's my girl. Food always comes first."

"You know it." Harley pushed the popcorn into his hands and scampered to get up. "I'll be right back with the beers."

Joker whistled. "Now the parties starting."

Her bare feet hit the cold laminate floor as she skipped to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Pudding and beer filled up one shelf; her shelf of guilty pleasure, which she hated to admit she used more often than not. "By the way, did June say anything when you saw her?" After a while there was no answer as she reached into the fridge and pulled out two cold beers. "Puddin'?"

Strolling into the living room, Harley opened her mouth and froze when she saw why Joker wasn't answering. On the TV screen was the documentary of World War I that she had randomly flicked on. Blame it on her nerdy side, but she always thought that documentaries were a better watch than the reality TV that so many people her age were into. Sure she would indulge in the occasional drama filled show, but majority of the time, the drama she saw in documentaries were a lot better and so much more real.

As she glanced at Joker's face, she saw the unblinking eyes that were focused on the soldiers that were scattered along the battle field. Some were crouched in the ditches with their guns blazing while others were dragging their bleeding comrades back to safety. It looked so real and she was so sure that Joker had been pulled into a memory.

She almost ran across the living room and nearly flung the beers onto the coffee table before grabbing for the remote. With a flick of the wrist, she turned off the TV and faced Joker. At first all she could do was stare at the floor near his feet as guilt surged inside of her.

Goodness, how could she forget such an important detail. He was a war veteran who had gotten out of the Marines just a little over a year ago. And now here she was showing him pictures and videos of the life he lived back then. They hadn't spoken much about his time in the field, but she was sure that no veteran would ever want to go back into the fray.

Slowly, Harley lifted her eyes up from the floor and followed the length of his legs up. His hands rested on his knee with no rigidity to his figure. His face was still entranced by the now blank screen, but his eyes...they looked lost in thought, but no other muscle on his face looked tense or quivering.

Harley's eyebrows furrowed in thought for a moment before Joker moved his eyes away from the screen and looked at her dead in the eye.

"What's up, babe?" he gave her a look and then patted the couch to invite her to sit down.

Slightly flustered, Harley slowly walked to her side of the couch and took a tentative seat beside him. She opened her mouth, but no words came out as her mind reeled.

A remote was placed in her hand and she stared down at it then at Joker. "If you didn't like the show that much, could have just changed the channel," Joker joked.

"But..." Harley started, "The show...I thought that..."

"Hmmm? Thought what?"

His eyes that were staring back at here were the dark blue that they always were but a spark that was not present before shone in them. "Nothing," she absently said.

Without another word, Harley sank back into the couch and flicked on the TV. For a split second, an image of the forsaken battle field flashed into view before she opened up Netflix so they could choose a movie. And again, for a second, there was a spark in Joker's eyes and no trembling of his hands.

* * *

She totally knew. Dammit, he shouldn't have played it off as nothing. He should have faked it like he did in front of the damn psychiatrist. She was a psychologist in training but if his acting skills could get him out of those weekly sessions then he could trick her. But for some reason, he couldn't do it. Couldn't lie to her even for her own safety.

It was possible that she thought he didn't want to give into the flashbacks and just choose to ignore them, but he saw the confusion in her eyes and the thoughts that were whirling through her mind when he avoided even talking about the war documentary. He should have told her the truth, but that would just make things worse. And now it was too late. What was he suppose to say now that they were watching a romcom that she had chosen.

It looked as if she had also forgotten about it since she was now laughing merrily at the TV. She had a puzzled look on her face for minutes - he always loved that he could read her face like a book - but it faded soon after and she once again beamed at him like he didn't just have a weird black out moment with the TV.

She seemed to have let it go, so why couldn't he?

Joker almost smacked himself across the face because he knew why. He _wanted_ to tell her about his dirty little secret, but that thought frightened him more than the thought of her knowing. The secret that not even Flag knew and he would be willing to give it freely to a girl he had just met a month ago. Out of all the people that were in his life or have ever been in his life, she was the one that he would trust with it. And she was going to be a shrink. The thought almost made him laugh. After years of trying to keep those doctors out of his head, he would be willing to share it with a shrink-in-training. Oh the irony.

He was taken out of his thoughts when Harley shifted against his arm as she snuggled closer. His darting thoughts seized as her arm hooked his and she leaned against him for support and warmth. Her body shook as a particular scene pulled a laugh out of her, the sound making Joker grin. Damn, he lived for that laugh some days. Ugh, he sounded like a love struck man.

Then her hand drifted onto his lap. Gone were the worried thoughts from before, instead they were replaced with more horrifying ones. Thoughts that he had fought for weeks on end and to no avail would lose every time he would have a moment of privacy to himself and could finally let his imagination flow. So many times he thought about those hands slipping into his boxers and her lithe fingers teasing him. So many times did he think about her undoing his belt and just climbing on top of him an-

Dammit, he needed to stop. Needed as much as he needed water and food. He needed to stop thinking about his friend in a such a way. They had agreed on it 100%.

Oh who the hell was he kidding. He _needed_ to have her on his now quickly hardening member.

These last few weeks had been complete hell. Every time he was away from her, he would recite that they were friends, that she wasn't that hot, that the sex was mediocre at best. And one text from her would have him tossing them out the window just as quickly. Then when he saw her in those tight shirts and short skirts she frequented, he would fully regret even remotely keeping his word to Flag and not touching Harley again - well, at least for a third time.

And worst off, the fantasies and sexual frustration had made his mood more fowl by the day. Most days, he wasn't exactly a bowl of sugar like Harley was, but now-a-days even Frost who was so used to him being temperamental tried to stay away from him.

The obvious choice would be to bang someone else to take away all the frustration. It wasn't like there was a shortage of them throwing themselves at the hot tattoo artist, but when ever they would touch him in any suggestive way his anger would spike. They weren't blonde enough, not smiley enough and not crazy enough.

This girl was driving him absolutely bonkers. And he tried to keep away from her, keeping a friendly distance. But she was just too entertaining with her quick jokes and laughter. There was something about her and the way her mind ticked that made it so in sync with his. And that thought alone should have scared him since no one had a mind that ticked like his.

Hell, his mind didn't even tick. It was broken beyond repair.

He gave a mental shrug as he refocused on the hand that had began to absently caress his thigh.

The worst part about the whole thing was that Harley didn't seem at all affected. She smiled and chatted with him in the same way as before. Even being in his close proximity where she was practically sitting on his lap like she was now, Harley would act like he was some brother she was having a movie night with. He didn't know if the thoughts infuriated him or calmed him down.

Her hand gripped him when a romantic part flashed on the TV screen and Harley waited on baited breath to see what the main character would say to the man's proposal. Joker would have rolled his eyes at the cliche, gut-wrenchingly sweet movie if he wasn't thinking about Harley moving her hand two inches over to his engorged cock that was clearly noticeable through his jeans.

And again, Harley didn't seem to notice it at all.

He should have tried to hide from her, but again he was in the half way point between her noticing and banging her, or her not noticing and keeping this blissful friendship going. At this point, with his ever waning resilience to her naive sexual taunting, Joker was beginning to care less and less about the promise that he gave Flag.

But Harley was commitment material, and he was definitely not. He was so sure that he would get over this oddly strong sexual attraction he had for her if he just pumped her enough times to get her out of his system. Then he would be left with no other choice but to walk away from her like he did so many others without regret or care. But for some reason, that thought had a low growl emitting from his chest as if his body and subconscious disagreed with even the thought of it.

However, if they ever got into that type of relationship again, that would be the only way for it to work. She didn't need his darkened mind to taint her light. She was worth so much more than him.

Though, the ball was on her court now. If she suddenly hopped on him, he would have absolutely no power or will to stop himself from taking her again, Flag or everyone be damned.

* * *

He still wasn't responding to her touches.

Harley almost pouted when her boobs, which were quite literally pressed up against his arm, didn't gain a single reaction from the green haired man. To tempt him further, she slid a hand down his thigh close to the bulge in his pants.

And still there was nothing.

She knew what she was doing was wrong, tempting a man who otherwise didn't seem to care about her more than a friend. She wanted to keep her promise. She did really, but sadly her mind and body were not on the same page as her morals. They wanted him, and wanted him badly.

After their initial talk, Harley was set on never feeling his hands on her body again, but she reached her limit after she stopped by his shop the next day. When she saw him with his sleeveless shirt and tatted up arms tattooing a client, she nearly jumped him. Honestly, Joker could just exist and she would think him too hot to pass up. She remembered the night when those talented hands ran over her skin to both to ink and bring her pleasure, and it made her shiver on the spot.

It was wrong to want him, someone who had made it clear that he didn't want to be with her for anything other than being a friend. Someone who agreed with her that they would completely and terribly incompatible together if they were to become an actual couple. Sex partners, sure. They were electric. But being together would surely bring about their flaws. Besides, she wasn't exactly someone who was mentally stable enough to be in such a relationship. He was battling his demons and so was she.

It always surprised her that she was able to put up with the harsh realities of being a doctor since there were days that she thought her mind was more like the patients she was treating than those of her colleagues. Like the others, if Joker knew of her path and the reason why she truly studied psychology, he would run for the hills or laugh at her. However, there was something about him. Something that made her want to trust him and told her that no matter what, he would be willing to put up with her oddity.

At first, she thought that it was her wishful thinking but when she saw that twinkle in his eyes earlier that night perhaps her intuition was right, which would would solidify the reason why she was so attracted to him in the first place. And the reason why she was unable to resist him even now.

Trying her best not to pout at Joker's lack of reaction, Harley watched the rest of the movie while her hand moved unconsciously over Joker. After a while, it just felt normal that she sat beside him, cuddled close to his side. She laughed along to the movie and before she knew it, the credits were rolling as her eyes began to close.

There was nothing but darkness for a time before Harley felt someone lift her up. She felt as if she was floating on air with her arms flailing to the side as the warm body carried her. Out of instinct, she curled towards the heat and rubbed her cheek against the broad chest. After a bit of time coming in and out of sleep, she felt her body being set down onto a cloud. When she felt the warm body pull away from her, her arm shot out to grab onto anything that would keep them close to her. It was then that she peered sleepily through one eye and saw the shirt that she had grasped with her hand.

Her eye lingered to the person's face and a smile formed on her lips when she saw Joker's smirk face looking down at her. Weakly she pulled on his shirt to bring him closer to the bed that she now laid in. When he sat down on the side of the sheets, she let go of his shirt and put a hand on his.

"Don't go."

Joker chuckled at her words but didn't even try to argue with her. It wasn't uncommon for him to stay the night even when they became just friends. He stood back up and picked her up before plopping her back down on the other side of the bed. Quickly standing, he stripped his shirt and tossed it onto the floor before pulling off his socks and climbing into the sheets. As soon as his back hit the soft mattress and the covers draped over both their bodies, Harley sleepily reached out for him and scooted closer until her cheek was against his bare chest.

In the dark, they both laid in silence for a couple of minutes. All she could hear was the thudding of his heart against his chest.

"Harls?" Joker's voice penetrated the darkness. When a lazy hum answered him, Joker continued. "About the TV. Shit how do I say this, the psychologists think that I have PTSD..."

"I know," Harley said firmly. She propped her chin onto the chest and looked at the shadows that enhanced his facial expressions as he stared out the window and the bright moon. There was no difference in his facial expression but Harley could hear the speed of his heart.

Joker's eyes stayed strained on the window. "Harls, I don't think you understand." He wanted to tell her his secret, but it was so hard to say it especially when she thought exactly what all the other psychologists thought.

A hand reached out as she caressed his cheek. "Puddin'." Her voice was soft. "I know you don't have PTSD."

His eyes snapped to her quickly and his dark blue eyes that shone eerily in the moon light bore into her. There were questions in his eyes and even more so, a confirmation of her words. She gave him a lazy smile as no words were exchanged between them. The sparkle that was in his eyes wasn't that of fear or guilt for the things that he had seen or done, it was delight. And as wrong as that was to feel that way after taking the life of another human being, Harley wasn't disgusted or frightened of him. In fact, she understood him on a personal level.

As Joker's mouth opened to question her, Harley's eyes began to betray her and her lids closed. Before she drifted off once again, she whispered, "I understand, Puddin'. I understand."


	6. Chapter 6

_Hi y'all! Finally finished this chapter! *wipes sweat off forehead* This one is a little heavier than the other chapters, just to warn you. And it is super long since I haven't updated in a while. My updates will continue to be sparse for this story but don't worry because I do not plan to drop this any time soon._

 _Hope you guys like this chapter! And as always let me know what you think with a review! :D_

* * *

Joker looked down at the woman who was sleeping peacefully in his arms and sighed deeply.

The light shone through the curtains of the bedroom and illuminated the various picture frames and trinkets that she had laying around the room. He had barely been able to sleep a wink last night as her words continued to echo in his mind. At some point, he had the urge to shake her from her sleep just to ask her if she truly understood the gravity of the situation, but when he looked at her face he couldn't get himself to move a muscle to wake her. As soon as there was a crack of sunlight, he pushed himself up into a sitting position on the bed and kept her head on his lap as she continued to sleep the hours that he could not.

With another sigh and glance at her face, he slid from under her and placed her head on the pillow. Only hearing a small mewl of protest from her, he stood to his full height and stretched out the kinks of the morning. Not bothering to pull on a T-shirt, he made his way to the kitchen and the coffee machine. He shoveled the grinds into the filter and turned it on before heading to the patio that overlooked the street below. Digging in his pockets, he dug out his pack of cigarettes and the lighter that he normally kept in his jeans. They were a bit crinkled from sleeping on them last night, but a stick was a stick and damn, did he need one today. He lit it and pocketed the lighter before taking a deep drag.

What was she going to say when she woke up? And why the hell did he care what she thought?

Joker wasn't suppose to care about what the world thought and only do what he wanted to do. That was his thing, so why was he freaking out now. He never joined the army for the justice and honour that everyone seemed to see. To him, there was no justice or honour in the world only those who wanted power and those who would be conquered for it.

There was a single reason why he joined: boredom. He had grown up in the slums fighting tooth and nail for everything he needed and wanted. There was no mother or father for him, only a woman who had left him in a basket next to a trash bin before some other unfortunate soul had enough decency to search for the crying baby and deliver it to child services. The only thing that mother of his did for him besides give him DNA was pin a name to his basket; a name that he would later discard. For years, he was in and out of foster homes and none of them were pleasant filled with people who just wanted some extra cash that they would never use to take care of a child who was not their own.

The only solace that he had was the sketches that he doodle from time to time, whether it was of skulls or rabid animals. Or perhaps the mangled faces of said foster parents.

By the time he was 13, he had ran away from his final foster home with the only other boy who he could stand to be around, Frost. They had been together in several homes and had remained close due to the fact that Frost never cared about the trouble that Joker got up to and was always more than willing to help with little to no protest involved. By the time they were 16, they had rap sheets that were kilometers long and had been admitted into juvie more times then they could count, so much so that it was basically a second home for them. It was there that he had done his first tattoo and where he had gotten his first as well.

During the times that they had managed to remain free from the rehabilitation center, it was mandatory that they were applied to a high school. Not attending high school, just applied to one since the government never seemed to care where the orphaned children were anyways. Majority of the time, they had skipped classes or used the time to do obscure jobs for some cash whether it was booking for a local gambling ring, fixing up cars, or tattooing. It was one of the days where they were picking the lock to the high school's roof that Flag had caught them. It was lunch time and they had intended to drink the rest of the day away. And technically they would still be in school...just not in class.

Instead of telling on them, Flag had shrugged and joined them. He was different from them being a popular jock with a normal family life, but there was nothing like contraband alcohol to bring people together. Now a days, they were as strong as brothers.

At 18 with limited education and a lengthy amount of offenses under his belt, there wasn't much left for him to do. He thought about continuing his cacophony of different jobs, but decided to enter into the forces like Flag was doing. But while Flag entered to serve the country that he passionately believed in, Joker entered with less than a second of thought and shrug of his shoulders. It sounded like a different experience, besides it was getting boring in Gotham. It was one of the only times that Frost had decided to take a job as a bookie instead of join them.

To his surprise, there was a lot that the forces taught him that he had not already learned in the harsh reality of his childhood. It taught him discipline, integrity and honour; all the things that he wasn't the best at and would later on toss out the window. However, there were a few things that stuck and clicked with him as soon as he learned them, like how to hold a gun, hand to hand combat, and how to kill a man without them even realizing someone was in the same room as them. These were things that he excelled at and had given him a position in Flag's team.

Flag rose in ranks quickly, after all he was all the things a good soldier should be; he had honour and the skill to back it up. And apparently, the patience to deal with someone as uncaring and sarcastic as Joker. He had been placed in other teams before Flag's but they never worked out for more than a day since Joker had a tendency to not follow orders. Don't get him wrong, he got the job done, it just wasn't in the way that the officers commanded. He found it rather stupid to do something one way when there were so many other ways to go about it. But Flag, knowing what type of spontaneous person Joker was, just told him a goal and let him figure out how to do it himself.

If it wasn't for Flag, he knew he would have been discharged at the very beginning. In fact, he knew that the only reason that they kept him around was because of his skills which surpassed even that of Flag's. He could assemble and reload a gun in less than twenty seconds, and could take down anyone regardless of how much bigger they were than him. He got missions completed in record time and would be off to a new one with less than a stretch of his back. The only thing that he wasn't very good at was decreasing the amount of collateral damage that occurred around him. No he wouldn't go around killing innocent women and children, but if any of the guards ever got in his way, there was sure to be a bullet in their head instead of a tranquilizer. That was why regardless of being a part of Flag's troop, the higher ups would move him around from group to group when there was a high risk mission occurring.

Others may not like to work with him, but they put up with it since he knew what had to be done to complete a mission. They respected him for the strength that he represented, but still found it odd that anyone could go into battle with a smile on their face as if they were a child going to a birthday party. Sociopath, psychopath, mentally unstable. The things they whispered about him went on and on, he just never cared about it. He knew who he was. On the battle field, he was ruthless and emotionless towards his enemies, but he could still sit down after the long day was done and have a drink with the troop as if he was a normal civilian.

He may not function like the rest of them, but he functioned well enough.

The Marines was a good fit for him and it got rid of the constant boredom that used to nag at him. He would have stayed except for the small little part about his mental health. For some reason when he first entered, he was cleared but on one of the check ins, he was no longer deemed fit to serve.

On their last mission before he was discharged, there had been an ambush when their team had been sent out into the field. There was supposedly a high ranked leader located in one of the houses in the village that they were to intercept. It was an easy mission. Get in, shoot before you ask questions and get out scenario. It just didn't turn out the way they thought it would.

When they arrived, it was eerily quiet. There were no villagers in the streets like their normally were even when it was late at night. No guards were spotted outside the building and everyone felt on edge. Flag had called it into the higher ups who were watching the mission as it proceeded, but the orders set and they didn't see just cause to call it off. They had barely stepped a foot into the building before guns blazed from the insurgents who were hiding throughout the room and the outside compound.

It had been a bloody mess on both sides and far worse than any of the other missions they had been on. There had been blood everywhere and the collapsing bodies of their comrades surrounding them as they fired round after round of bullets. And when he ran out of bullets, the knives came out and the physically gut wrenching sound that he heard from the men as he stabbed and gutted them had been horrifying. But the whole time he smiled, as if he was having the time of his life.

They got out of that mission with the less than half of their team alive and everyone injured. To say that it had been an ambush was putting it lightly, it had been a massacre.

Joker still remembered trying to stop the bleeding on Flag's leg as pain shot up his arm from the bullet wounds he had sustained. For hours, they sat in the middle of mangled bodies of comrades and enemies waiting for back up to arrive with nothing else to do but stare at the lifeless corpses.

Out of all the members on his team who remained alive, Flag was the only one who went back to the army and was deemed both fit serve mentally and physically. Of course, he decided to go into the reserves and was now stationed within Gotham City training new recruits and was only called into battle if their was a major emergency. Even that mess of a mission took a toll on his friend who lived to serve.

The others weren't so lucky, Joker included. Others had sustained debilitating injuries while others were too traumatized to ever go back into battle.

For a month after battle, Joker had reoccurring dreams that would set him on high alert to the point of no sleep and would send tremors in his hands as if he was an addict cutting cold turkey. It was reasonable that the doctors deemed him to have PTSD. But while the dreams were slightly affecting his sleep and function, they never set him in the same state as the anxiety disorder should have. In fact, it wasn't that he was haunted by the things he had seen but was yearning for the adrenaline rush that the battle had set off in him. He missed the battlefield and the guns and the thrill that came along with it. Whenever the dreams came, they would wake him up and set him edge but they also brought a smirk to his face and laugh to his chest. Goodness, he was broken he knew, but that was the way he felt and he be damned if he apologized for it.

He remained in the therapy sessions since he saw no possible way to get out of them and revealing the true nature of his sleepless nights would only get him sent to a full time institution. But soon, he grew sick of the doctors who began to push their diagnosis on him. He lied and conned his way and when they wouldn't clear him to go back into the army, he went with the flow and tried to integrate back into society. To get rid of the boredom, he hit the gym, shot at ranges, and there were times he even antagonized the occasional drunk guy to get into a fist fight. It wasn't healthy but neither was boredom.

After a while he got back into the motion and even managed to get a job at a tattoo parlor. The pay was decent and it gave him something to do, besides his art style fit the inking business. Once he found out that his boss at the time was selling the joint, he bought the place out and renovated it to his tastes. It was a spur of the moment decision since it wasn't like he knew anything about running a business, but heck it paid off in the long run. It helped that Frost had dropped his bookie job once he heard that Joker was back on the streets and decided to help him out with the tattooing and the books.

Since then, he had began living a pretty routine life even with the occasional concerned comments from Flag about his supposed PTSD. He hadn't even bothered to correct him. After all, what was he going to say? "You know, man, I don't actually have PTSD or any anxiety from war. I just really really miss the battle field. No, not the comradery or service, just the blood and the smell of gun powder."

Yeah, that would have sent him right back into the psychiatrist that he tried so hard to get away from.

And now, he still some how ended up with a psychiatrist, and as a friend no less.

He ran his hand through his hair. Harley must think he was insane, not that the word didn't fit him. But for once, he was worried about someone running away from him because of it. Since he had come back to living the civilian life, she had been the only thing that took away the sting of boredom that had resurfaced.

What was she going to think when she woke up? Dammit, why did he even care.

There was rap on the glass door behind him. When he turned around, he wasn't surprised to see Harley standing there with two cups of coffees. He must have zoned off enough that he didn't even notice her in the kitchen. She extended one of the mugs towards him; thankfully it was the darker of the two liquids unlike her sugary excuse for a coffee.

"Thanks..." he mumbled under his breath and returned the smile that she threw at him.

He saw her mouth open and braced himself for the confrontation that was bound to occur.

"So what you want for breakfast?" Well, that wasn't exactly the words that he was expecting. When he didn't respond for a while, Harley continued on. "I was thinking of hash browns and eggs, and maybe some bacon. What you think?"

Without waiting for an answer, she walked back into the kitchen and left him behind to follow after her if he so choose to. For a second, Joker thought perhaps that she had forgotten, but something nagged at him that she was just giving him time to tell her and not pushing for an answer. Or perhaps it was so he wouldn't ask about her words from the previous night: "I understand." Just how much did she understand. Could anyone ever understand the odd thoughts that ran through his head everyday?

He dashed out his cigarette on the ashtray that she had placed there for him a couple weeks ago when she was horrified to see him dash it out on her railings. Coffee in hand, he followed her inside and watched for a moment as she brought out the ingredients that she would need. Knowing the routine by now, Joker set down his cup on the island and bent down to grab the pans from the cupboards.

Harley was half way done cooking breakfast before she spoke again. Without warning, she turned around from the stove to look at him in eyes where he sat at the small kitchen nook. "Puddin', I tried to stay quiet but now I'm sooo curious." She batted her eye lashes at him.

A small smirk grew on Joker's mouth before it spread into a grin and then a chuckle. At least she was being straightforward about wanting to know, even if it did take a while for her to crack. "What you mean, Harls?" he said with a touch of mischief in his voice.

"Oh, Puddin', don't be like that." She placed the spatula she was holding on the counter and made her way towards him only to stop when he was a foot away from her. With her arms crossed and her face stern, she look down at him. Instead of looking menacing like he knew she was trying so hard to be, she looked like a child who was about to pout which made him look up at her with a smile on his face as his worry was thrown out the window. "What happened last night?"

For some reason her face always made everything a little bit better. Even if she ran for the hills after this, he wanted to tell her about his time in the Marines and about how he ended up back in Gotham, faking an anxiety disorder that he didn't have.

Taking her wrist, he untangled her crossed arms and pulled her closer so that she was standing between his legs looking down at him. "Harls, what if I told you that the doctors think I have PTSD?" he said in a serious tone.

A shoulder rose in a shrug. "Then I would say that I believe that they probably think that you do."

"Then what if I told you that I didn't really have PTSD or a fear of the battle grounds?"

"Then I would say that I believe you." That brought a smile to his lips.

"And how would you possibly reconcile the fact that both the doctors and I are correct but with totally different conclusions?"

* * *

There was a sternness to his facial expression as she stared at his face and the supposed blankness of his stare. Regardless of how indifferent he wanted to be, there was a certain look to him that showed just how much this conversation really meant to him. She could see it in his eyes and in the way that his hand was slowly tightening on hers.

She had never seen him so vulnerable.

"The doctors can only judge from what they can see and what you tell them. Maybe you had anxiety in the beginning, maybe you didn't. Maybe you faked it in the end...to get away." As she said the last words, her eyes lifted from their hands that were now intertwined to his eyes. There was an understanding in those deep blue pools. He knew what she meant. In this conversation, she wasn't just talking about him, she was also giving him some of her experiences.

A smirk landed on his lips. "Maybe I did fake it. And maybe they wanted me to fit into the illness that they described so badly that they bought the act."

"And maybe now you live as one of the 'successes' of their therapy..."

"...Even though your mind says there was nothing their to fix in the first place..." Joker continued.

"...Because it was already broken to begin with." Her voice by the end was barely a whisper. But it didn't matter since Joker could hear her.

As they spoke, their bodies had drifted closer together to the point where she was basically seated on his lap. But not only did they physically get closer, there was also a connection that they felt tighten around them. It had always been there since they first met and was the reason it was so difficult for them to stay apart ever since. Now she knew why. His situation was not that much different from her own.

Regardless of living a relatively normal life now, her childhood was anything but, making her grow up faster than she needed too. It was probably one of the reasons why she continued to act like a child whenever she could afford with her pouting and love of sweets. She was making up for the lost childhood.

Before she knew it, their faces were but an inch apart. Slowly she closed the distance.

Then there was a smell. At first it was just a thought that fluttered through her head. Then it got worse. Kind of like...like something was burning.

Her eyes pulled open in surprise and she pulled away from Joker who was less than inch away from her lips. She scrambled to stand up and ran towards the pan.

"Ekkk! The eggs are burning!" she shrieked as she pulled the pan away from the burner. The egg was burned to a crisp and resembled more of a fire log than an actual egg.

With a pout to her lips and tears in her eyes, she turned to Joker who still looked stunned at how quickly she had jumped out of his arms. "Puddinnnn'," she whined.

His eyes focused on her then shifted to the pan. Suddenly there was a holler of laughter.

Just from hearing him laugh, her pout turned into a giggle and then escalated until laughter filled the room. She couldn't believe she forgot about breakfast.

Still cackling, Joker got up from the table and grabbed the pan out of her hands before heading to the sink. "Make another batch of eggs. I'll wash this out for you."

Harley smiled at him and bent down to grab another pan. As she cracked more eggs over the heat, she looked over at Joker who was scrubbing away at the blackened pan.

"Puddin'?"

Without taking his eyes away from the pan, he hummed in response.

"Tell me what happened?"

There was a groan from the man. "You really want to know?"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't wanna." She turned back to stir the eggs with the spatula.

The water turned off and she heard him set down the pan before walking over towards her. "It's not that I don't want to tell you."

"Then maybe," she turned to look at his form which was leaning against the counter. "We can trade stories? Just promise not to freak out when you hear mine..." Her voice became soft near the end and a cocktail of emotions rose up when she thought about her childhood. How would he react?

A chuckle came from the man. "I think it will be you running away, toots."

Her eyes locked with his and she gave him a smile. She lifted her hand so that her pinkie was pointed towards him. "Pinkie promise I won't as long as you don't."

With a smirk to match her own, Joker wrapped his larger pinkie around hers and locked the promise. It made Harley's smile widen since she could see just how childish it made him feel, but he did it regardless.

"Your turn first," she exclaimed as she turned back around to stir the eggs. A groan was heard before he began his monologue.

As Harley made the eggs and Joker cut up some of the potatoes, he told her about his childhood, the army and even what had happened afterwards with the hordes of psychologists he had escaped from. As the information came, Harley listened and painted a picture of what type of person Joker was. She understood it all. The reasons why he joined the army, and the reasons why he lied to get away and definitely why he never told anyone about it before. She understood it all to well.

By the time he was done talking about his life in the very brief way that the green haired man normally spoke, she realized that he had still not mentioned why his hands hadn't been trembling at the sight of the battle field or what was actually going through his head instead of fear and anxiety. When he grew silent, she didn't bother to coax him any further and instead decided to go straight into her life's story. May be then he would be more willing to share with her.

"My parents were well off by all accounts. High class house in a fancy neighbourhood, high class jobs as lawyers, and high class social circles. If you ever asked anyone what they thought of the Quinzel family, they would say that they were a down to Earth family with loving parents and a sweet little girl. But who people really are and what people portray in public aren't always the same. And in my case, it was the polar opposite."

Harley recounted her childhood to Joker as they continued to make breakfast and set the plates. It was odd to have such a serious conversation while doing something that was so normal, but it helped her recount the events of childhood when she could avoid his eyes which she knew were directed at her even as he helped with breakfast.

Her parents had provided for her in the necessities and only the necessities. They allowed her to enter a prestigious elementary school because it was expected, but otherwise did not allow her to step one foot outside to play with the other children. There was no such thing as birthday parties or play dates, only school and the walk directly home. There was a time when she rebelled and decided to go with her friends to the park and all it got her was time in their cold attic which had turned into a detention spot for her during her childhood. It was freezing, dusty and frightening to a child, but she supposed it did its job as punishment since she never strayed from the path home again.

Though that didn't mean that she never got punished again. Nothing she ever did was enough. Straight A's earned her nothing but a hum and her quiet obedience only had her being used as a puppet for their grand social events where they paraded her around like a prized cow. It was the only time they ever complimented her, but she knew it was all for show. As soon as they were behind closed doors, the verbal abuse and neglect would resurface with vigor. There were times that she did nothing to deserve it, they had just wanted someone to take their anger out on other than each other.

There was no love lost between her parents. In fact, she knew that they only got married for the sake of saving face since their bosses had introduced them and at that point in their lives it was expected to marry. Apparently it was the right thing to do, even if they hated each other so much that they resorted to sleeping in separate bedroom on opposite ends of the large mansion and constantly bickered if they were even within view of each other.

"My parents never wanted me, I heard them both say it several times both to my face and when they argued. I was nothing more than a mistake when I was conceived and a nuisance when I was born. So they decided not to treat me like the child that I was but instead another object in their facade of a life." Harley couldn't hide the bitterness in her voice. "I was never grateful for being alive until one day, they...went away."

"Went away?" Joker echoed her words as if he knew exactly what she was going to say next.

"My parents were lawyers and there were times when they defended people who others wanted dead or otherwise silenced. Do you know Penguin?"

"The criminal?" She nodded. "Yes." From all the video footage he had seen of the criminal, he had to admit that the pudgy man's character interested him. Of course, if he was ever to pull of a bank heist, he would do it in a little bit more of a tasteful way.

"My father was defending a man who was testifying against him at the time. It was a solid case and as much as I hate to admit it, my father was a ruthless lawyer who would have won it. Penguin knew that and if he couldn't get to the man who was under constant police surveillance and was in witness protection, he was going after the sure-thing lawyer." She closed her eyes to remember event.

It was the shattering of glass that had first awoken her then the waling of the alarm. Her first thought was that her parents had accidentally broken one of the windows while having one of their screaming matches. It wasn't uncommon for them to throw plates and vases at each other. She cracked the door to her room and instead of seeing her mother's red screaming face when she peeked out, she saw the booted feet of several men. When her eyes drifted higher, she took in the guns that they held and didn't need a second glance to know that it was time to shut the door and hide inside of her closet. There wasn't much in the small closet to hide her, after all they only gave her uniform for school and a couple of dresses for the galas. But the laundry basket, it wasn't full but it was enough clothing to cover her small form if she crawled into it.

There was more banging and then a scream. She knew the voice of her mother since it was normally screaming at her. It continued to scream in fright and, when she heard the guns fires, it screamed in anguish and pain. There were sounds of doors breaking and she knew that they were looking for her father and probably for her. Harley knew that they had found her father since there were more pained grunts and again, gun fire. Through it all she listened, not even bothering to cover her hears to muffle it.

She remembered her fear when she no longer heard her father's grunts. That meant that they were coming for her next. And after a couple of seconds, she felt more than heard the sound of her door being kicked in.

"She's not here. That old fart pointed out that his kid slept in here," a deep voice boomed. She wasn't surprised that her father had sold her out but it still stung.

There was a scoff. "She couldn't have gotten far. Check the closet and shelves."

Her heart pounded into her rib cage so hard that it physically hurt when she saw a sliver of light enter the closet. "Not here," she heard and almost sighed in relief. "Damn kid! Fuck. We don't have time for this, cops are going to be here in 30 seconds. We got the parents that's all we need. Let's get out of here."

She had bit her lip to keep silent during the entire conversation and just when she thought she was in the clear, the man kicked the laundry hamper in anger hitting her square in the ribs. Even as the pain spread through her and the hamper fell over spilling its contents on the ground, she remained silent until the men were out of the house. To her luck, the clothes still covered her even when some had dumped out.

As the sirens drew closer, she stumbled through the wrecked house her arms wrapped around her torso to suppress the pain. She was startled to turn the corner and see blood. Lots of blood. When she followed the trial to its origins, she saw the crumpled form of her father with holes in him. From the glazed over look in his still opened eyes, he was long gone. Instead of feeling sadness, she felt nothing. And again when she stumbled onto the body of her mother - quite literally since she tripped over it and was coated in her blood - she felt nothing

The paramedics found her like that, beside her mother staring at her dead eyes.

"When I was tested for vitals, the paramedics asked if I had sustained the broken ribs and the bruises during the break in. The broken ribs were but I didn't bother to tell him that the bruises were from earlier that week. After they mentioned that my parents were no longer around and that the social worker would have to take me for a little bit. Up until that point, it didn't seem real. The break in, the shooting and their deaths. But when they said those words to me, it confirmed it and I felt..." Harley lifted her eyes to Joker who was staring at her intently. Goodness, he was going to think her as crazy as the psychologists did. "I felt relieved and happy. I actually started laughing and smiling. Could you imagine the looks on their faces when they saw this ten year old laughing like a maniac." As she said the words, she laughed a little.

After that the loads of psychologists and institutionalization were ordered. Because a child who was happy her loving parents were dead definitely couldn't be sane. They labelled her as emotionally unstable, and she probably was after all those years of isolation, but the relief that she felt when she was sent to foster care instead of back into that cold attic was founded. She wasn't crazy for being relieved that her parents were gone. It wasn't some misplaced form of sadness like the doctors said, it was pure happiness that she no longer had to interact with them.

But the institutions saw it differently and she had been subjected to treatment after treatment until she finally had enough and repeat back the words that they wanted to hear. To trick the doctors into thinking that she no longer had these supposedly harmful thoughts about her parents had been hard for a ten year old, but she had done it. They had first considered her ill, but now she was cured. After that they had sent her on her way calling her a success with less than a second thought that perhaps she was truly glad for their demise.

That was fine. At least she was able to get out into the world and meet the people that would eventually become her family by something stronger than blood.

By the time she had recounted the whole event to Joker, they were both seated at the table. Her eyes remained trained on the eggs.

"Harley." His voice was firm. She still didn't look at him, after all these eggs looked so fascinating all of a sudden. "Harley," he said again and again she didn't respond. There was a sign, then, "I don't have PTSD. Doctors only thought that since when the guns, the combat and the blood were taken away, I reacted like an addict going through a withdrawal. Shit, I was going through a withdrawal. I craved and lived for the thrill."

That was why he hadn't mentioned it before. The thought of him enjoying the battlefield had popped into her head ever since she had seen the steadiness of his hands when he saw the documentary. But hearing it confirmed now didn't make her scared or worried like Joker seemed to think it would, it made her feel ecstatic. This was why she had thought he wouldn't be like the others who had judged her for the way she thought and the odd of her thinking. He was like her, just as insane as her.

Harley beamed a smile at him. He didn't seem to falter when she had told him her biggest secret, one that even her family and closest friends didn't know, and even told her his own deepest secrets. For the first time, she didn't feel judged. Just accepted. "You still go shooting?"

He gave a quizzical look before answering. "Sometimes. Mostly just hand to hand combat or boxing with a couple of the guys now a days."

With a clap of her hands, Harley scooted her chair closer to his until she was able to place her hands on his knee. "I know a shooting range not far from the city. You would love it! And the owner knows me so he would totally give you a great deal."

A smirk tugged on his lips and a loud laugh erupted from him. "Shit, baby. Didn't expect you to say that."

Puffing out her cheeks, Harley lightly hit his arm. "Told you I'm not running for the hills." Her face sobered up for a bit. "Are you?"

Joker grinned. "What running? Hell no way, Harls. You're my accomplice now. We take this to the grave, you hear?"

"You've never told anyone about that before?"

Joker shook his head, before he replied with deep baritone. "They know the basics, but like damn they would understand what the hell is going on in here." He knocked his head.

"I understand, Puddin'. I haven't told anyone either. Everyone only know what the media has told them." Sure she trusted the friends that she made as if they were family, but didn't feel comfortable enough to tell them something that would normally get her sent right back to the doctors that she worked with.

His hand lifted and grazed the tattoo that was peeking out from the collar of her shirt. "Guess we have more in common than these tattoo's then, huh? Always thought you were odd."

"Hey! You're odder..." Harley smiled and wrapped her hands around his torso to caress the print on his back. They shared a moment in silence as they felt a burden lift from their shoulders. It kind of felt good to tell someone else what was going through your head and to actually have them understand.

All of a sudden, the door knob jingled and their was knocking on the door. "Harleen! Are you home? I left my purse in their and don't have my keys," June's voice came through the door.

Harley's eyes whipped to the door then her widened eyes locked onto Joker's.

"Hide," she whispered after recovering from shock. Harley barely gave him enough time to process the words before she was off the chair and pulling at his hand to get him to stand.

Joker had no inclination to hide. Being able to see Harley would be worth Flag and June's grilling, but the look on Harley's face amused him so he did as he was told and allowed himself to be dragged then pushed into her bedroom. "Shoes," he whispered to her before she bolted out of the room to retrieve them.

"Harleen! I know your in there!"

"I'm on the toilet, hold on!" she yelled back which made Joker cackle in amusement.

She practically threw the shoes at him and was about to run out of the room again, but was stopped when Joker grabbed the back of her shirt. She gave him a puzzled and annoyed look. "You're wearing my shirt."

Damn, it had become such a habit that she didn't even realize she was wearing it. Without another word to her, Joker lifted it over her head and handed her a random t-shirt and shorts from her closet. She didn't have time to analyze the panty dropping look that Joker gave her as she dressed before she was closing the bedroom door and running to the front.

When she unlocked it, it burst open as June and Rick stepped in. "What took so long?"

"I was on the toilet, I already told you." The words came out a little defensive but June didn't seem to notice. She was normally pretty hostile in the morning anyways. "Hi, Rick."

"Hey," the man replied but his gaze wasn't on Harley at first but instead at some object in her apartment. And when his gaze finally landed on her, there was confusion in his eyes, but if he had questions he didn't voice them.

"Wow, why all the food." June pointed to the kitchen table as she walked further into the apartment to retrieve her purse from the living room.

Shit.

"I was about to eat breakfast." Okay, good. That's something someone would normally say, right?

"But there are two plates." June asked confused.

Omg why was she so observant.

"I was making some for you too, silly!" It was a believable lie since she did cook for both of them at times, but it came out so high pitched that even she winced.

"Oh, you didn't have to, Harleen. We were actually on our way to a dinner for brunch but I needed my purse." She turned to Rick who was still eyeing Harley. "Rick, did you want to eat here instead? We could cancel our reservations."

Damn June for being so considerate and wanting to stay. Before Rick could answer, Harley burst in. "No no no. No, you don't have to do that. Go on your date. It was just in case you came home early anyways. I'm so hungry I think I'm going to eat all of it anyways."

June looked at her again. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Absolutely. Yup."

"Are you okay, Harleen?"

"Yes. Yeah, just excited to...uhh...taste the hash browns." Harley almost face palmed. Taste the hash browns. What was that? It was a weak excuse.

"Okay well, we will get going then if you're sure." June gave her a worried look that Harley tried to act oblivious to. "I'll see you tonight."

Harley practically hustled them out the door, but before she closed it, she saw the peculiar look on Rick's face for a briefest of seconds as if he was trying to think of something to say. It slammed before he could get anything out. Once the door was shut, Harley let out a breath of relief.

"Oh my goodness, that was close." She leaned against the door and slid down it until she sat on the floor.

Her bedroom door creaked open and she saw the still shirtless Joker walk out.

* * *

" _Excited to taste the hash browns,"_ he repeated with amusement in his voice as he stood in front of her. "And you do realized you said the word 'no' four times in a row, right?"

She gave him a playful glare. "I panicked, okay."

"Please don't tell me you were able to get out of the mandatory psychologist visits with skills like that." He held out a hand to her that she took so he could pull her up to stand.

Once she was standing, she hmphed and walked around him towards the table. Taking her fork, she shoveled some hash browns into her mouth. "Well they do taste pretty good so maybe I won't share any with you." She grabbed the whole bowl and stuck her tongue out at him. Joker stalked her while he laughed.

This was why he hung out with her. No matter how heavy of a conversation they had prior, it would be turned into mutual smiles and laughs within seconds.

He was pissed when she had been telling him about what her parents had done to her. How could they do that to a sweet girl? Sure he had seen equally horrible things, but it made his blood pressure rise and fist ball up when he thought about them hurting her. Thank goodness her parents were dead, or else he would have finished them off himself. Though, he was glad that regardless of all that happened to her, she still laughed and smiled brighter than anyone he knew. She was a strong woman and it didn't even seem like she knew it. And it was a good thing too since it took a strong woman to put up with him and his sometimes extremely short temper.

And damn was she crazy. But something told him that he always knew she was more like him rather than like the other people in this boring society that they lived in. Others would have scolded him for thinking the way he did or tell him to talk to another psychiatrist, but Harley took it all in with a smile on her face.

It was a damn good thing she was crazy because so was he, and it wouldn't be changing any time soon.


	7. Chapter 7

_Hi y'all! Thank you for continuing to support this story. Please let me know with a comment what you think about it. I honestly have only a rough sketch of this plot so let me know if you think it is going too fast or slow or if it is just right._

 _Enjoy you guys!_

* * *

Harley skipped to the front door of the tattoo parlor and swung the door open. With a smile to her lips, she went over to the front desk and waved at the scaly man currently ringing in a customer. When she saw Croc tip his head in a greeting, she made her way to the back office. Along the way, she peeked into Joker's room and wasn't surprised to see him with his purple gloves on digging a needle into a person's thigh. He looked so concentrated that Harley snuck a final look before taking off towards the office. She opened the door and let it close behind her with a click.

Since the day that she helped Joker with his files, she came back to the shop every couple of days to make sure that the boys hadn't messed up any of her neatly filed papers or inputted anything into the spreadsheet she had created for them. Sometimes she felt more like a maid than anything, but the guys in the shop seemed to appreciate what she did and welcomed her with open arms. As open as the burly men were allowed to be that is. The dinners that Joker took her out to in exchange for the paper pusher duties that she did as a favour to him always made the time she spent here worth it.

The boys were also not that bad. Besides Joker, there were three others in shop - Croc, Diablo and Frost. As a collective, they smiled about as much as a clam. Even though the saying goes, "As happy as a clam," the shellfish didn't exactly have lips and as such didn't actually smile. Just like the boys who occupied this shop.

Out of the three of them, Joker apparently knew Frost the best since they were buddies from childhood. The first time that she met him, Frost had taken one look at the tattoo that peeked out from her low-hanging shirt collar and said, "So that's where the last needle went" before he introduced himself. The comment still confused Harley but it seemed to be some sort of inside joke since Joker chuckled when he heard it.

The friendship that had built ever since Joker and her shared their past with each other was something that was completely unexpected. They were good friends before, but now she was less guarded with the information that she shared with him. Before if her past was ever mentioned, she would find something to distract them both. Now that she thought about it, Joker always seemed to distract her in the same way and now that she knew his past, she knew that he was trying to hide it from her as well. They were so open with each other now-a-days that it was scary for her to even think about it. She normally felt exposed if anyone even knew an inkling about her past, but with Joker there was none of that.

Sadly, their close friendship did not help to quell the escalating fire that was burning between her thighs whenever Joker was within the city radius. Yes, she did say city radius. She was sure that even if he was outside of Gotham a simple text message would be enough to ignite her all over again.

It took her awhile to admit to herself that she had this connection with him and even more time to admit that she was way past just being friends. There would be no hesitation if Joker ever decided to take them over the line, but sadly it was not meant to be. Regardless of the deep understanding and chemistry that boiled between them, she knew for a fact that Joker wanted no commitment or relationship with her. She wouldn't be surprised if he kept a piece on the side regardless of all the time that he spent with her.

Sometimes that knowledge hurt. He never mentioned any other women and she never asked, but she knew there must be someone. There was no way someone like Joker would be withholding sex just so he can be a dear sweet friend to her. The thought made her frown for a moment before she shook herself out of the stupor. No need to think about that now. She valued their friendship more than wanting to have a relationship with the green-haired man. Or at least that's what she told herself.

She set about doing some paper work and when that was completed took out her books. There was always an exam to study for and a paper to write. Juggling her work as an assistant in the clinic, volunteering and school wasn't exactly the easiest, but Harley always got through it with a smile and very little sleep. It was to be expected when she was in such a demanding program.

For an hour she got lost in her textbook until she heard the door open and Joker stepped through.

"Thought you'd still be in here," he said as he walked closer to the desk.

Looking up from her books, Harley gave him a smile. "Always always."

"You know what time it is right?" He propped his hip against the side of the desk and stared at her with an eyebrow raised. He looked so attractive in the pose that Harley couldn't help but bite down on her lip to stop a girly squeal from coming through. Some times she felt like she turned into a slobbering fan girl when ever she was near him.

Thinking nothing about the question, Harley glanced at the computer clock. "5:45."

"And what are you suppose to be doing at 5:45?" By the way that his lips curved and the lilt in his voice, she knew that he was trying to get her to remember something.

Harley tilted her head to the side and nearly shot out of her seat when she realized what she had forgotten. "Omg! My volunteering shift! I can't believe I forgot," she rambled as she closed her books and shoved them into her bag hastily. "Those kids will be all over my case if I'm late for movie night."

She glanced at her cell phone and was about to look up the next scheduled bus when Joker grabbed her phone out of her hand. "Come on, I'll drive you," he chuckled before turning around and walking into the hallway.

"It's fine, you know. I can bus it." With how fast he was walking she had to run after him to catch up. He went into his room and grabbed the duffel bag that he had stored in his shelves before exiting and locking the door behind him.

"I just finished with my last client and am suppose to meet Flag at the gym anyways. I'll drop you along the way. Not a big deal, Harls."

"Okay, if your fine with it." She shrugged and smiled up at him as she skipped with his stride.

"More than fine." Now that she had agreed, he handed her phone back to her. As they passed by Frost's room, he peeked in. "I'll see you at the gym later, man."

Instead of replying, Frost tilted his head in agreement before going back to tattooing a butterfly tramp stamp on the client. It seemed like half the time, the men never talked to each other. The head nod that they did could be used as a greeting and agreement. It was something that Harley had gotten used to in the shop.

"Bye bye, Frosty," Harley said before walking after Joker.

They said their byes to Croc and Diablo before making their way to the parking lot where Joker's bike was parked.

"You're going to have to hold on to this for me, toots, and give me directions." Joker handed over the duffel bag and straddled the bike. The smooth motion that he did it made Harley's mouth water, but she shook her head and slipped the bag over her head letting it rest on her lower back just below her own side satchel. She got on behind Joker and pressed herself against his back.

"I don't know how you drive one of these," she mumbled more to herself than anything. It wasn't like she was scared of the bike. Harley just never got the chance to ride one before she met Joker.

With a shrug, Joker replied. "Not that hard actually. I can teach you one day if you want."

"You would let me ride your bike?" Considering how much he loved this machine, she was very skeptical about his offer.

"Well with supervision." Joker chuckled as he kicked up the kickstand and maneuvered the bike out of the parking stall.

Harley felt the hum of the engine and grabbed onto the fabric of Joker's shirt. This was one of the reasons she loved to ride it. It gave her an excuse to hang onto him, and to maybe fondle his abs ever so discretely. If it meant spending more time with Joker, she wouldn't mind trying to control this monster of a bike. "Sounds like a fun time," she said with a smile before they took off towards the orphanage.

* * *

He could have kept the duffel bag behind him and have it shield her body from his. He could have...but he didn't. He could have also taken the less bumpy road on the way to her volunteer, but he didn't. Now he could feel her breasts move against him every time they hit a bump.

Damn, this just friends thing was definitely not working for him. His dick was now going to extreme lengths just to get close to her body in anyway it could.

After a couple more minutes of driving, he felt Harley tap his shoulder telling him to slow down beside an old run-down apartment building. It surprised him that he had never seen this orphanage before since he had been shuttled to so many different ones when he was younger. Around the perimeter was a chain link fence that surrounded the splotchy green and brown lawn. He didn't have to go in to know that the inside was most likely the same grey bare walls that he had lived in as a child.

Before Harley could even get off the bike, the front door of the building opened and a little boy poked his head out. His young face contorted in confusion. Joker knew the exact moment that he spotted Harley was when the boy's face spread into a smile and he threw the door open to reveal five or so other children. They all poured out of the building and ran to the gate just in time to greet Harley as she climbed off the bike.

"Big sister!" one of them cried out as they came closer. "You're a minute late!"

Harley beamed at them and crouched to their level. "Hey, guys! I know, I'm sorry. How about I make it up to you with popcorn and a little bit of chocolate tonight with your movie?"

There was a round of cheers with her announcement and Joker chuckled at how easy it was to please them. He was glad to see that life in this orphanage was not as dreary as it had been for him. It was no doubt thanks to the presence of Harley and her ever chipper attitude. If he had someone like her visiting them years ago, it was possible that he would have never left.

One of the kids turned to him and stared at the bike that he was still sitting on. Then he turned to Harley and pulled on her shirt to get her attention. "Is that your boyfriend?" he asked innocently. "He looks scary."

Harley blushed and turned her gaze to Joker who just smirked with amusement waiting to see how she would answer. "No, we are just friends. And we shouldn't judge people on their appearance, he's a good guy."

She touched the little boy's nose and he nodded his head understanding her lesson. With all his tattoos most kids normally avoided him and with his usual stern expression he was not surprised that they found him scary. Leave it to Harley to think him a good guy regardless of all the things he had done in his life.

Harley began walking closer to the bike and passed the duffel bag to him. "This where you used to live?" Joker asked. She had never mentioned the name of the orphanage to him, but from the way that her eyes softened when she had looked at the building, he knew that there was some sort of familiarity.

"Yeah." She watched his movements as he threw the bag over his shoulder and tightened the strap. "Was different back then though. Believe me, this tattered old building is an improvement compared to before."

"I believe you," Joker said as he grabbed onto her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'll pick you up after your shift." Harley was about to argue, but it wasn't a question and he would not take no for an answer.

"Just give him a kissy already. We want movie!" One of the kids in the back had yelled out loud and it again caused Harley to blush. She didn't do it often but when she did, it reminded Joker of the red stained cheeks she had when they were in bed together.

Harley gave a playful glare to the kids who all laughed and ran towards the house. She ran after them and was able to catch one of the younger girls who she picked up off the ground and held in her arms as she laughed.

"Bye bye, big brother!" the little girl called out to him and gave a little wave. Joker wasn't used to being around kids, but he responded with a little wave of his own. After all what was he suppose to do when he was faced with something so cute. "He totally your boyfriend," Joker heard the girl say to Harley.

Harley give her cheek a little pinch. "Sure sure, he's my boyfriend," she responded with a roll of her eyes and gave Joker a playful wink as she walked towards the house. "Thanks for the ride!" she called out before she began chatting with the children who were now pulling her towards the doors by her free hand.

Joker watched until the Harley and the kids vanished into the building. It was times like these that Harley seemed so different from him. She seemed to be someone who radiated happiness while he was just someone who caused mischief and problems for others. They were so similar in the way their minds worked but still so different in their dispositions. It was one of the many things that reminded him just how out of his league she was.

He was used to feelings of inadequacy after being religiously reminded of it since he was first born, but this was the first time that it ever really bothered him. It was a new feeling and one that he didn't necessarily like.

Before he could think further into it, he reeved his engine and was racing away from the orphanage.

* * *

Joker walked into the gym and took a detailed glance at his surroundings taking note of the number of people, exits and possible hidden areas. It was something that he had gotten in the habit of doing ever since he was younger and was something that had saved his lives several times in the army.

The building looked run down from an outsiders perspective, but it suited him and the boys just fine. Around him were several men and women pounding away at punching bags or lifting weights with plates that were bigger than their own bodies. At the center of the floor were two large boxing rings and it was beside one of them that Joker saw Flag wrapping his hands.

When he got closer to the bench where Flag sat, the man stood to meet him and gave him a pat on the back. "Hey, J."

He only responded with a hum and set his duffel bag down in order to wrap his hands in the same way as Flag. There was a minute of silence between them, before Flag broke it. "So how was your week?"

Giving his friend a side glance, Joker inclined his eyebrow in question. They didn't do small talk, ever. Usually they would put on their bandages and gloves, get into the ring and then Flag would tell him his news for the week as they threw punches at each other. There was none of this awkward questioning since Flag knew that Joker would only answer when he thought it was relevant or if he wanted him to know something.

Deciding to humour him, Joker shrugged his shoulders and responded. "Fine. Work as always."

"And how did Friday work out for you?"

What in the world? Now he knew that his friend was digging, and if Joker cared enough for the reason, he would have asked why. "What's wrong with you, man? You never ask about my hookups. When ever I even bother to tell you about how big her boobs were, you cover your ears like a virgin."

Flag put up his hands up in defense. "Nothing's wrong. Just feel like I haven't talked to you in a while."

Joker chuckled and continued to wrap his hands. "That's because you're always three inches deep in June."

"Shut up. If my little guy is anything, it's not three inches."

"You're right. It's much smaller," another voice said and the two men looked up in time to see Frost walking towards them.

Lifting his wrapped hand to give Frost a high-five, Joker cackled. "Poor June probably needs a magnifying glass to find the damn thing."

"Fuck off," Flag responded with no malice behind his words. He shoved on his teeth guard and gloves and stood, waiting for Joker to do the same. "Get in the ring so I can clock that smug grin off your face."

With a roll of his eyes, Joker finished his hands and ducked under the ropes that surrounded the perimeter. "You can try."

The two men got into their stances near the center. "First one on his knees, loses," Frost's voice was heard as he took his position near the small match bell at the side lines. It was a rule that they had came up with when they realized that one of their fights could last hours before either of them would even think about tapping out.

There was a nod from each man before the match began. As soon as Frost rang the bell and the high-pitched resonance filled Joker's ears, a fist came flying at his face. Flag always took the first punch, thinking it was the only time to surprise the green-haired man. Without much thought, Joker evaded the jab and instead took a swing at Flag's chest when he saw how open he left himself. His glove made contact but it only served to push Flag a foot back.

There was enough time for both of them to get their footing back before the next hook was thrown. Flag's throws were always powerful, but swinging was never the problem, landing them was. Joker was always light on his feet and would always evade or block any incoming blows before striking for Flag's open sides. For every hook that Flag landed, Joker had hit him twice.

As Joker took in the adrenaline that coursed through his veins, his smile got wider and his jabs got stronger. On most days, they would trade words as they boxed but at the moment, Joker wasn't feeling it. He was fueled by his clouded thoughts of Harley.

Whether it was just of them being friendly, or of them stripping each other like the first night that they met, the thoughts would flow and flow. To make it worse, there was normally no outlet for the frustration and confusion he felt. Hence why he was taking it out on one of his brothers.

They traded blows for many minutes, Joker lost in his thoughts and Flag trying his best to counter his friend's jabs. As his mind raced, an image of Harley's smiling face came up and it stuck there taunting him. In order to shove the thoughts away, he gave a well placed right hook towards Flag's jaw which connected. It sent his friend reeling backwards with no way to catch himself other than to land on his knee. Both of them paused for a moment and looked at each other, taking time to process the end of the match.

With a weak laugh, Flag tossed off his gloves and began to rub this side of his jaw. "Damn, J. Could you punch any harder?"

A smile formed on Joker's face before he bent down to grasp his friend's hand to help him up. When both were standing, he clapped Flag on the back. "You know I could."

"You don't normally fight like that unless something is irritating you. What's up, man?"

Choosing not to comment, Joker shrugged and walked away.

They both made their way out of the ring and were not surprised to see that a crowd had gathered around them. They never noticed them during the match but whenever they would finish, people would always flock. Apparently watching them brawl was entertaining enough. Joker never really cared much for others watching, but sometimes the extra attention didn't hurt his ego.

There were a couple of girls at the edge of the ring who waggled their fingers in a greeting to the three of them who were now putting their gloves away. Normally Joker and Flag would have went over and tried to hit on one of them.

Frost never joined them. The quiet man liked his women proper like the type that you would pick up in a high class watering hole. As it was today, Flag was loyal to June and Joker felt no pull to go towards them so he just chose to ignore their presence until they went away.

Joker already knew that one of the women in the pack was someone he had already hooked up with months ago. She had slipped him her number, but he had tossed it in the garbage as soon as he could. Ever since, she had been trying to get his attention. He never liked sleeping with his hookups more than once. It gave them the wrong idea, but apparently once was already enough for her to think that there would be a second. And from the excessive effort the woman was putting in, it might have worked if his mind wasn't so preoccupied these last couple months with a certain blonde bombshell.

As he bent down to zip up his duffel, he saw the look that Flag tossed at him with his eyebrow up in question. "What?" Joker asked tersely. His friend's concern was getting weird.

"Not going to hook up with another one of Amanetta's friends?" Flag asked incredulously.

"Who's Amanetta?"

"That brunette chick you hooked up with a couple months back." Flag nodded to the woman that Joker was trying his best to not look at.

"Oh that was her name?" Joker didn't care enough to get their names, as long as they knew his.

Flag started to walk towards the punching bags with Frost close behind him. Frost didn't enter into a brawl with them often and preferred the punching bag over a moving target, but Joker knew that if given incentive, the man could knock flat a man twice his size. As the three of them split off to work with different machines, they stayed within earshot to talk.

"You're such a dick, man." Flag practically rolled his eyes.

"Hey, just 'cause you like to be tied to June doesn't mean that I want an old ball on chain."

"Then why aren't you talking to those chicks now? They keep on looking over here waiting for you."

Joker didn't have to look behind him to know that they were staring. There eyes were practically drilling a hole through the back of his head.

Frost, who had been quiet for a majority of the exchange finally spoke up. "Boss over here might as well have a ball on a chain around his leg."

Two sets eyes fixed themselves onto Frost. One was Flag's who looked curious. The other was Joker's who glared at him silently telling him to shut his mouth and shut it quickly. Being around the shop often the last week, Frost had obviously known who Harley was, but he didn't know her relation to Flag or June. He couldn't blame him for blurting it out, but dammit he didn't need Flag to know about this shit. He didn't even know what he was doing by being around Harley so much, so there was no way that his friend would understand either.

"What do you mean? You got a girl, J?" Flag asked, his eyebrows up in question. Now the man looked interested.

Before he could answer, Frost's even voice called. "Naw, just this chick that tries to hit on him at the shop. Flaunts her smoking hot body at him all the time, but J doesn't seem interested."

When Flag wasn't looking at him, Frost gave Joker a look that asked why Harley was such a secret.

Regardless of not liking the way Frost had described Harley's body, he couldn't blame his friend even if it did make him want to strangle him for looking. He couldn't kill everyone who thought Harley was a looker though he could damn well try. Even if they were just friends, he felt territorial over her and it was something that freaked out even himself.

"Well then, that shouldn't stop him from getting one of their numbers," Flag said as he tilted his head towards the group of women.

"Why the fuck would I want one of their numbers when I could get a hotter one from my shop?" Joker said trying to divert the conversation from the women. Flag's insistence was starting to grind on him and making him suspicious.

Flag set the machine to higher weight before continuing his workout. "Why not both?"

His eyes pierced into Flag's. His gut continued to nag at him. Something was wrong. Flag was trying to push him too much, as if testing him. The first thought that popped into his head was that he knew about Harley and assumed that they were sleeping together. He was probably trying to see if he would go for another woman. But Flag knowing wasn't possible. They had never crossed paths and the one time Flag was at her apartment, they had grabbed everything that belonged to him and shoved it into the bedroom. Even if Harley had been hiding a man that day, there was no way to tell that it was Joker.

"Fine," Joker mumbled out before he stopped doing reps on the leg machine and made his way over to the group of girls.

There was confidence to his steps and a jaw dropping smirk to his face, but in his mind he was pissed. He hated doing anything he didn't want to do. Usually he found it fun to flirt with a couple of women, but now it just felt like a chore. At this point though, he would do anything to get Flag off his back.

He walked to the brunette whose body he recognized more than her face. The first time he had chatted with him, he never gave her any promises. He was looking for an easy bang and at that time she was there twirling her long hair like she was now. She was good looking with a body to kill for, but it just wasn't what he wanted. Her hair wasn't blonde and her smile was small and plain. And from what he remembered, majority of her nutrients growing up had gone to her boobs instead of her brain. The girl's head sounded like a watermelon if knocked on.

"Amanetta, right?" he asked.

She gave him a flirtatious glance and batted her eye lashes so fast that Joker was wondering if she was seeing stars after. Harley never had to do that, she just always looked cute and sexy without trying.

"Yeah." She looked around at her friends who were giggling. "I thought you had forgotten about me since you never called me back."

"Now how would that be possible." It was very possible. "I think I lost the paper your number was on."

She pursed her lips which were painted hot pink. "I don't know if I believe you."

Good, she shouldn't, Joker thought. Instead of saying the words, he looked at her with a smirk on his face. There was a cockiness to the way he looked and the way he held himself that Joker knew would make any woman fall to his whims, regardless of if he voiced them or not. He didn't want her number, but from the way he was acting it seemed as if he did. And from the awed look she was giving him, it seemed like his smolder and acting was good enough to convince her.

After a while Amanetta produced a pen from her bag and grabbed his hand. She scrawled down a couple of numbers and didn't bother to step back from him after she did. "There. Now you can't lose it. Make sure to use it." She gave him a wink.

Joker took a step away from her. Sometimes he was surprised just how quickly they were willing to give him their number. "Maybe I will. Maybe I won't."

He saw her smile fall for a moment before she put her hands on her hips and a gloating smile spread on her lips. "Why else would you come over here?"

A smirk planted on his lips. "Just came to say hi. I never ask you for your number." He watched the blush come to her cheeks in fury and embarrassment making him chuckle. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't think you'll be hearing from me again. I don't double dip. Have a nice night, ladies." With that he turned away from the fuming group of women, not even bothering to apologize to the brunette.

He was a jerk, he knew it. But he never did lie to the women he slept with. They always knew it was a one time thing and nothing more. If they happened to concoct some messed up version of the reality and think he was going to ask them to marry him, they would be heart broken like the many others.

Joker looked at his friends, who were both eyeing him ever since he had walked over to the group of giggling women less than two minutes ago. Two minutes, that's how long it took him to get a phone number.

When he was within a meter of them, he lifted his palm to show them the numbers that were inscribed on it.

"You happy now?" he quirked an eyebrow at Flag.

"Peachy," Flag grumbled, though the man looked anything but happy. If anything, he was confused and concerned.

What ever angle his friend was working, Joker didn't have enough energy to care.

Frost just looked at Joker with interest. Joker knew he would have to explain the situation to him later regardless of how much he didn't want to. He was getting so sick of hiding this shit. It was obvious that Harley and he couldn't stop seeing each other. Whether it was accidental or on purpose, they always managed to bump into each other. And they had grown to be such good friends that it was almost impossible to go by a single day without at least texting her to ask how she was doing. Besides with all the things that she knew about his past, he would have to kill her for his secret to be safe again.

It was ironic that they initially became friends for the sake of not sleeping together and so they would not hurt any feelings that may have been damaged if they were to just have a casual fling. Now, them being friends was the problem. It didn't help distract his mind from her striking body nor would it spare any feelings if the friendship ended. They knew so much about each other that if they were to ever go their separate ways, it would damage them; Harley to a greater extent, he thought.

Basically there was no other way than to remain friends for eternity if he wanted to spare her feelings. Which meant bad things for his blue balls.

His phone rang with a very high pitched feminine ringtone that was very different from his standard ring; it was Harley's special tone. There was no way that Joker would ever use another tone than the default. Shit, if Flag was digging for something before he knew that this would make it worse. Just his luck when his friend had finally shut up for the day.

"Damn chick from the other night changed my ringtone when I was in the shower," he quickly explain making it sound like another hook up, before digging in his duffel bag until he found the insistent phone. It wasn't a total lie since Harley had changed it thinking it funny that whenever she would call, the tone would annoy him to bits. And since she got such a kick from it, he decided to keep it so long as he could change his ringtone on her phone to some equally annoying one.

Shielding the phone from the guys, he looked at the screen and was not surprised to see 'Harls' pop up. It had been almost two hours since he had dropped her off and movie night must have been over. He didn't bother to answer it knowing that she was calling about a ride and instead sent her a quick text saying that he was coming.

He pocketed his phone and zipped up his bag before looking at his friends. "I'll see you guys later."

"Where you off to?" Flag questioned. And again the questions started. Joker cursed the ring tone.

"Got some pieces to finish for tomorrow," he grumbled before turning away. "I'll see you tomorrow, Frost."

He briskly walked away before he was bombarded with another set of questions.

* * *

Harley tucked the last of the children into bed. They had been so tired after the movie that many of them had passed out in the living room of the house.

Making sure that they were all asleep, she shut off the light to the room before exiting into the main hallway.

This orphanage had changed since she was a child, and she was very glad for it. It still had dingy walls and crowded spaces, but the people were better. She didn't have to worry that the workers were harassing the children that they were suppose to be looking after. The caretakers here were all so nice and cared so much for the children and so did the families that took them in afterwards.

When she was looking for volunteering opportunities, it had seemed right to give back to her first real home. It wasn't like the mansion that she had lived in with her parents, but it was where she had met her brother. Floyd was not her flesh and blood brother, but above anything he was family.

After being institutionalized, she had been released to this orphanage since she had no other living relative. The supervisors at the time were bitter and didn't have much time to tend to every child, but Harley had been glad to live there instead of with her cold parents. Someone who really made her feel welcome was Floyd, a dark skinned boy who had been a couple years older than her.

She was constantly being picked on for her pale skin and for being the "crazy girl" since everyone knew the way her parents died and how she had stayed in a psych ward for awhile after. It was Floyd that had put down his foot, or more like put his fist into their faces to shut them up. Ever since that day, she had stuck close to him and he didn't seem to mind. He treated her like a younger sister and after being together for almost half a year, they were taken in together by a kind couple. They originally only wanted to provide a foster home for Harley, but she had absolutely refused to go unless Floyd was with her. They were a kind elder couple and had treated them nicely enough which was more than most could ask for. She still went to see them from time to time.

They were put through high school and it was there that they had met June, Tatsu and Digger. They had been considered troubled teens, but they were a tight knit group. The others weren't foster children like Floyd and her, but they all got along regardless of their different personalities and circumstances. They became the family she never had.

As she passed some of the caretakers, she said goodnight and made her way to the front of the house. Through a window, she saw Joker idling just outside of the gate. She knew he hadn't been there very long since she would have gotten several texts from him if he had been. He was never very patient when it came to waiting for people and would always fire text after text until it got the person's attention.

Harley opened the front door and exited before locking it behind her. Making her way to Joker, she smiled and waved when he gave her a smirk. "Hi, Puddin'!"

"Kids all tuckered out for the night?"

She noticed that he had changed his clothes and instead of wearing his jeans had on basketball shorts that showed off his well-carved calf. She didn't know how a calf was sexy, but for some reason it was with Joker.

"Yeah, I was surprised all the chocolate didn't go to their heads. It didn't take them that long to fall asleep today."

He still straddled the bike and when she was close held out a hand for her so she could balance herself while she went to sit behind him. Just as she was about to take his hand, she noticed the written numbers on his skin and froze.

"What's up, Harls?" Joker asked when she didn't move for a good ten seconds.

She tried to answer him, but no words formed. Her heart pounded as her mind reeled. It was obviously a phone number and why else would he have a phone number except from another woman. And it wasn't as if someone had slipped him their number without Joker asking for it. It was right there on his palm, and Joker never let someone touch him unless he wanted them to. Perhaps it was from a client and he didn't have a paper on hand when they had called. She knew she was reaching for any other explanation.

Her eyes, which never strayed from his palm gave away her concern.

When Joker looked down at the numbers, he said, "Some chick from the gym." His voice was uncaring as if it was the most normal thing and to him, she supposed it was.

Swallowing suddenly seemed very hard, but she told herself that she should have seen this coming. She already thought that he was seeing other people. They weren't an item; they weren't even sleeping together. They were friends and the word was something that she was fine using right until this point. She shouldn't have been surprised to see the numbers, but it still struck her like a boulder.

Fisting her other hand, she plastered the best smile she could muster and placed her hand into his before swinging her leg over the bike.

"Always so popular." She tried to pass the words off as playful but even she could hear the strain in her voice so instead she opted not to say anything else as Joker started the engine and took off towards her apartment.

While they drove, she was left with her thoughts and they continued to torment her with images of Joker with other women. What was wrong with her? It wasn't like they promised fidelity when they became friends. If anything, them becoming friends was a clear sign that they could be with anybody else. She had agreed to that, but damn did it sting.

"We're here, Harls." She felt, more than heard, the words as they vibrated from his back as he spoke.

Harley shook out of thoughts and was surprised that they were already at her apartment. She didn't even notice anything pass by her vision during the drive.

Getting off the bike, she stood beside him, but couldn't make herself look at his eyes. "Harls? What's up?" Joker's voice was deep and his hand came up to her chin in order to lift her view to his eyes.

She looked into his dark orbs. "Nothing, Puddin'." She smiled. "I'm fine."

"Is this one of those times that a girl says they're 'fine' but it really means not fine?"

The humorous way that he did the quotes with his fingers made a small smile form on her face. "I'm just tired. I'm fine."

"And that's the second time you said that." There was silence between them, something that never really happened. Normally Harley would be talking loud enough to fill the void of the night. "I can't stay over tonight since got an early design to do tomorrow, but I'll be around tomorrow night. Your choice of movie for Movie Fridays."

She knew that Joker was trying to cheer her up. He hated the romantic comedies that she frequented but would sit through them anyways.

"Ummm actually, tomorrow the girls wanted to do a night out. Dinner and dancing," she lied to him, the taste of the words left her tongue tingling. There were no plans at the moment, but she would make sure that there would be some by tomorrow night even if she did have to drag June and Tatsu by their hair. She needed a little time to clear her head of these thoughts before she could sit on a couch near Joker as if she wasn't dying to scratch the eyes of the other women he slept with.

Joker's eyes narrowed on her. There was no question in his eyes instead there was knowledge. Knowledge that the numbers bothered her and knowledge that she was upset more than a good friend should be. And he wasn't saying anything to quell her jealousy which was basically saying that he had no feelings for her. At least, not strong feelings like hers.

She almost sighed in relief when he decided not to comment on any of it. "Alright, toots, I'll see you another time then," he mumbled.

Smiling, she turned from him, and couldn't help but glance at his hand and the numbers once more. "Good night, Puddin'."

With every step she took, she realized the weight of her feelings went even further than she realized. The very first time she met Joker, it had been all about lust. As they got to know each other, it was platonic love. And now...she cursed in her head. Goodness, she was half romantically in love with him. If she didn't reel in her feelings right now, she was so screwed.


	8. Chapter 8

_Hi y'all! Out with another chapter. Thx for the continued support, I'm glad to know that there are people who really like this story._

 _Leave a comment to let me know what y'all thinking! And I hope I will be back with another chapter soon. :D_

* * *

"So let me get this straight." Frost placed his beer down on the counter that he was leaning against and wasted no time pinning Joker with a plain stare. "You two slept together a couple months ago and ended up with tattoos. You didn't bother to get the tattoos removed. Flag and June warned you off each other so you didn't see each other for a week until she came to see you. And then you got buzzed and slept together again. And then decided to stay friends. But not just acquaintances, but close friends?"

Joker nodded along as he spoke. It was Friday night and instead of being with Harley like he normally was, he was instead drinking beer in his shop after spilling his guts to Frost. He felt like a middle aged woman talking to her bestie about new knitting needles and her new cat. He didn't want to tell him, but the man had finally cornered him and was glaring at him for most of the day. So after Joker turned on him with a glare and growl of his own, they had popped open the contraband beer in the workers' lounge fridge and sat around for the rather long story of how Harley had official burst into his life like a cannon ball.

"Well, the original plan was to keep her as an acquaintance, but clearly that hasn't worked out," Joker drawled and took another sip of his beer. Keeping her an acquaintance. He mentally scoffed. That had been blown to shits since the first day he had seen her prancing around the club with her short skirt and creamy long legs.

"No shit?" Frost said dryly. Considering Frost was usually as humorous as a funeral, it was rare for him to joke and actually made Joker crack a smirk at his sarcasm.

"Shit."

"So if you guys are such good friends now, why haven't you told Flag? It's not like you're banging her." Frost knew all about how Joker's escapades had ruined many of Flag's relationships. He had been there front and center to witness it all with a bag of popcorn practically in his hands. Now that Joker wasn't having any physical relationship with Harley, it shouldn't be a problem.

Instead of answering, Joker tapped his finger against the cold beer and sunk into the old couch that they had placed in the room. He didn't think he looked incriminating, but to Frost who knew him since childhood, the look of desire that washed across his face was like a glaring neon sign.

"Because you still want to make love to her," Frost said with a clear voice.

"Fuck. I want to fuck her." Joker put in quickly. He almost cringed at the way Frost said 'make love to.' No one but Frost and sappy romance novels said shit like that.

"Same difference, boss. So what? Are you just sticking close to her in hopes of luring her into sleeping with you again?" There was no judgement in Frost's voice. He was used to both Flag and Joker's crude sense of a one-night relationship.

Running a hand through his hair, Joker growled. "Fuck if I know."

It wasn't like Harley wasn't willing to sleep with him. At first, he had thought that she didn't see him as more than a brother, but the more that he looked into her movements the more her saw her desire. There was a flame in her eyes every time she oogled his abs when he took of his shirt. She would reel it in before she thought he saw, but he knew she wanted him.

The physical attraction wasn't the problem. It was the emotional one. He didn't want a relationship and Harley needed someone better than him.

"When she prances around here with a short ass skirt, it makes me..." Instead of completing the sentence, Joker just made a guttural sound that conveyed just how much her long legs affected him. "But chilling with her is hella fun too. Know last week, she was able to kick my ass in a first person shooting game? It shouldn't be possible for a girl who dresses that nice to play such a crazy game. Especially against me. I did that shit for a living."

Frost just looked at him for a couple of seconds. It wasn't like him to talk about girls with anyone...at least not in a nonsexual way. Joker was known to be quite crass when it came to describing the fairer of the two sexes.

"First, I don't even know how you're able to play those trauma-triggering games after all the therapy you went through. And second, you really hang out a lot don't you?"

His only answer was a shrug.

"Damn. All those Friday nights I thought you were heading out to do your moves on some woman, you were actually with her weren't you?" Frost couldn't help but smile at the grim look on Joker's face.

"Shut up, man."

"So why exactly are you doing here on a Friday?"

Joker flexed his hand before letting it settle into a fist. "She said it was girls' night tonight."

"Then why does it look like you're trying to booze the night away?" Frost was always too observant. From the way that Joker seemed to be cherishing his beer and the way he was chugging it down like he wished it was a shot tipped the man off to Joker's less than happy mood.

"She saw the number," Joker replied simply.

"From yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"And?"

Turning a glare at his friend, Joker looked at him wondering if he had to spell it out to him. When he was met by a dead stare, he simply rolled his eyes and explained the situation.

"She froze. She tried to pass it off like there was nothing wrong, but I could tell it bothered her. Probably thought that I was hooking up with the woman." He remembered the distraught look on Harley's face last night and it made his chest ache for reasons he didn't know. He should be out there partying the night away trying to find an easy lay, not here boozing himself.

"Weren't you going to call Amanetta? That was the whole point of getting her number."

"No way. The girl's clingy as hell. Just wanted to get Flag off my back, it was like he was digging the whole time we were at the gym. I forgot it was on my hand until she saw it."

"And you never bothered to correct Harley's assumption?"

Joker stared straight ahead as if having a staring contest with the purple walls. "No."

"Only heaven knows why," Frost replied evenly.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Joker asked tersely.

"You're purposefully messing up your relationship with her just so she doesn't fall for your messed up self." The very simple, to-the-point way that Frost said it resounded with Joker.

He saw the way Harley had reacted to the numbers. Even though his first urge was to tell her that it was all a misunderstanding and that he just did it to stop Flag from sniffing around, he didn't. The look of heartbreak as she looked at his hand last night was earth shattering. It wasn't until that minute that he realized she was starting to get attached to him, and not in a best friend kind of way. And while it could have worked to his advantage since it would make sleeping with her very easy, it was also something that shouldn't happened.

A quick fuck? Sure. A week long fling? Still a possibility. But the way that she looked at him showed that she was falling for him, and he didn't know how he felt about that. He could barely admit that he enjoyed her company, there was no way that he was even going to get close to admitting to liking her.

He would never like her in the same way that she liked him. There was no way. He couldn't. Not when she was worth so much more than him. Not when he thought of himself completely incapable of loving another person.

And that's why he let her think he was sleeping around. The more that she thought he was a player, the less attracted she would be to him. It would solidify the idea in her head that whatever odd, celibate, blue-balling friendship they had going on was nothing more than that. There would be no relationship. No happy ever after with him.

This was his last ditch attempt at trying to distance himself from her. If this didn't work, he didn't know what sort of messed up thing his dick was going to make him do. He was already contemplating kidnapping her and tying her to his bed permanently. So instead of doing that, he let her go. Let her lie to him in such an obvious way. Let her be hurt. He thought it would be better that it happened now instead of later on if she ever fell ridiculously in love with him.

He only wished that the image of her walking away from him didn't make his chest pang so much. Why did it even hurt? It shouldn't have since he only saw her as a friend...with a very attractive body. It shouldn't bug him.

She didn't look back at him as she closed the door behind her. The image made him growl.

"You've got to stop this, boss." Frost's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Instead of replying, he fixed a glare at his brother. Frost was looking at him with a blank stare, just like he always did. While Flag was emotional, Frost was more analytical. And Joker was just the clown of the group.

"You're going to ruin this thing you have going with her."

"There is nothing going with her. Harley is...Harley." He tried to come up with a comparison, but he really couldn't. There was nothing to compare her too, she was just that special. "But I know if I fuck her, I'm bound to get tired of her and then fuck up this whole thing that Flag and June have and probably screw up Harley's head as well."

Frost put up an eyebrow. "You've always care about not messing with Flag's relationship's, but you've never cared enough about what the woman might feel. Besides, you've had sex with her twice and still you want more. Doesn't that say something?"

Joker tsked and got up from the couch. He walked over to the recycling bin and tossed the bottle inside it, not caring that it hit the other glass bottles and shattered with a loud crack. Whipping the fridge door open, he grabbed another beer before replying.

"It says that some times it takes more than twice. I just like hanging out with her like one of the guys. What the hell's wrong with that?"

"Because unlike her, you don't want to fuck us." Frost's lips pulled into a rare smirk.

Just the images of Flag and Frost naked had his member shriveling up and possibly trying to crawl back into his body. He had no problem with homosexuality, but it just wasn't for him.

A large smirk pulled on Joker's face and sarcasm dripped from his voice. "So what exactly are you trying to get at? That I confess my undying love for her and we walk into the sunset hand in hand?"

Taking the final sip of his beer, Frost placed his bottle carefully into the bin before leaning back against the counter, eyeing down Joker. "I don't know, J. But I'm just saying that this shit is going to implode in your face. Flag's going to find out, if he hasn't already. And that bubbly chick is going to find herself a man at some point."

Involuntarily, a loud growl was pulled out of Joker's chest before he could stop it. Just the image of Harley being pawed over by several men made him want to take out the pistol that he kept in his safe and go on a shooting spree.

Frost didn't comment on his reaction and just continued to stand there like some therapist. Why did he think telling him about this whole Harley situation would be a good idea? They had never had such a lengthy conversation about a woman before. In the past, there was never any need when the women were there one night and gone the next.

The biggest problem with the whole situation was that he didn't even know what he wanted from Harley. He was so torn between wanting her and keeping her a safe distance from him that he was left with no conclusion.

There was a heaviness to the room as both men just sat there in silence, Joker thinking and Frost just staring.

It wasn't until Harley's high pitched ring tone cut through the tension. Pulling the phone from his pocket, Joker held it in his grasp for a moment. They hadn't messaged the whole day, and it felt wrong not to get a 'good morning' text from her. And now, here she was calling him.

With a silent curse, he slid his finger across the touch pad to answer. "Harls?" he spoke into the phone.

"Joker?"

His eyebrows knotted. That wasn't Harley's voice. Immediately he went on high alert thinking that something was wrong. Was she hurt? Did someone steal her phone? No that wouldn't make sense, why would they call him? Before his mind could give him more bright questions, he spoke into the phone. "Who is this? How did you get this phone?"

"And from your gruff demanding voice I am guessing that this is Joker." The woman on the other end did not seem to care that he was being rude. "This is Tatsu. We met once when you came to pick up Harley a while back."

Oh, yes. Harley's friend. He had seen her a couple times since that day whenever he came to see Harley at the university, but it was always in passing and usually just a wave. "Yes, I remember." His voice was more even, but he was still on alert. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

From the background noise, an echo of a laugh could be heard and so could the loud thumping music. "Oh my goodness, Harley what are you doing?!" Tatsu's voice was slightly muffled as if she was holding the phone away from her ear in order to look at what ever thing Harley was apparently doing.

They were at a club, Joker surmised. He already knew that so it didn't make sense why Tatsu would be calling him. Unless something had happened to Harley. "What is she doing?" His voice was demanding and deep.

Joker looked up from his position to see Frost looking at him in interest and with a questioning gaze.

"Sorry. She's really out of control right now." Her voice was clear. "Look I need a favour. Harley dragged June and I out here tonight. She said she needed some relaxing time since everything was stressing her out. I'm sure you know. She probably told you about it already."

Harley most definitely did not talk to him about being stressed, but he knew exactly why she was. It wasn't her excessive work schedule or studying, it was because of last night.

"Anyways," the Asian woman continued, "Now she is drunk and prancing around the dance floor. June went with Flag back to her apartment ages ago. I told her that I would be able to take Harley home, but I can't even get her to sit down for a second. She's not listening to Digger either. She's not speaking in coherent sentences, but she keeps mumbling 'Puddin.' I didn't know what that meant until I saw her cell phone. She was trying to call you but couldn't push the button since she's so inebriated. Then she got frustrated and started running around again."

The woman was calm but she sounded so defeated. He could only imagine how long they had been at the club trying to get her to go home. Pulling his phone away from his cheek for a moment, he saw the time 3:23 glaring back at him. Had he really been talking to Frost about her for 3 hours?

He replaced the phone to his ear. "So you want me to come down and get her?"

"Can you? I don't know what else to do other than clonk her on the head with a heavy object. I figured calling you was the better option."

Before she had even asked, he was already walking towards the couch and grabbing his keys and jacket. He had two beer and was still way under the legal limit, he could drive. "Text me the address."

There was a sigh of relief on the other side. "Thank you."

He hung up and nodded his head to Frost. "I'll see you later."

"Damsel in distress?" the man joked.

Joker let out a scoff. "Please, like Harley could ever be the damsel. Seems like her friends are the ones that need saving from her." He walked towards the door of the room then turned back around on an after thought. "And don't tell Flag about our talk, yeah?"

Frost just continued to lean on the counter. "I figured. Just remember what I said, brother."

An noncommittal hum was his only reply before he took off towards his bike.

* * *

Saying that the club was packed would be an understatement, it was positively infested with young adults lining up to get into the building. It was already bad enough he had to park his bike on the grass since there were no parking places left, and now he had to wait in a damn line. His eyes narrowed at the multitudes of people. There had to be another way in and if he didn't find a legal one, he was close to shoving his way in.

His saving grace came when his eyes flitted to the front of the line and saw the familiar bouncer sporting a fresh tattoo on his forearm. Just his luck.

Making his way to the front of the line, he avoided the flirtatious glaces of the women and the glares of the men. "Incubus," he called over the music that was filtering through the open doors.

Hearing his name, the six foot beefy bouncer turned his head and cracked a small smirk which was as welcoming as the man's face ever got. Normally, he was stern faced perfect for his night job. "J. How you been? Didn't know you came out to these types of places."

Incubus was a regular in the shop with many of the pieces that decorated his body being of Joker's design. Just last week Joker had inked the tribal tattoo that was crawling out of his short sleeved T-shirt. "I don't. Well at least not to dance."

They shared a smirk. Yeah, he had been around the club scenes lots of times, but it was mostly to take advantage of the women who came flocking.

"So time to find a lady it is then?"

"Actually to find a particular lady."

At that, Incubus' eye brow shot up. "You don't say. Knew your appearance wasn't a coincidence considering that blonde from your shop came by today too."

"Harley. That would be her. Heard she's gone off the rails since she got here."

For a moment, Incubus looked uncomfortable with his eyes glancing back into the club behind him. "I wouldn't say she's been a problem...At least not by any man's standards."

Joker's eyes narrowed. "What did you say?"

"Management hasn't removed her since she's the one keeping the action going in there. Girl is quite a dancer."

"I am aware," Joker gritted out. Her provocative dance moves still stuck to his mind since the first time they met. He wasn't a jealous man, territorial yes, but never jealous. Though that woman in there was not his, and as such there was no way to be territorial over something that wasn't yours. It didn't change the fact that he didn't want someone trying to claim Harley.

Seeing the murderous intent in his eyes, Incubus spoke cautiously. "If I had known she was with you, I would have gotten her off the stage myself. The woman is attractive enough to turn even my sister off guys for life."

Stage? She was on the stage? "Let me inside, Incubus," his voice was deep and commanding.

Without even thinking about it, Incubus' hand went onto the latch of the velvet rope that kept the crowds out. "I'll let you in, J. Just be forewarned, I don't want to be cleaning up dead bodies or calling the police on your ass."

He pulled the latch free and pulled the rope away from the door path. There was chorus of "boos" and swears from others in line as Joker walked past Incubus with a tilt of his head in thanks. He couldn't guarantee that there wouldn't be blood shed if what he was about to see was worse than his own imagination. And right now, his mind was coming up with some very interesting scenarios with one basically being a very public orgy. If any of them laid one hand on his girl, and there would be hell to pay.

The music inside was pulsating and the bass could be felt on every surface, but Joker paid it no mind as he walked past the coat check and towards the bar. As his eyes scanned the room, it didn't take him long to see the blonde woman. Perhaps there would be blood shed after all since her scantily clad body was currently grinding on another gold suited dancer on the stage as several men and women watched her from the floor.

He didn't care that she was dancing in such a way or that others were even watching her. After all, the smile that was on her face was intoxicating. What bothered him was that there wasn't one characteristic about her that would give the others any reason to think that she was attached to another. There wasn't a hickie on her neck or a bite mark on her thigh to let people know that she was his. When his eyes flicked to his tattoo that was exposed by her low cut dress, he let out a small sound of approval. At least that was one thing that would forever mark her skin. As Joker stood completely transfixed by Harley's pale skin that glowed under the spot light, he didn't notice the smaller Asian woman that came bolting towards him until she almost crashed into him.

"Joker!" Tatsu yelled over the speakers. He had to tear his eyes away from Harley, who had yet to notice his presence, in order to look at Tatsu and a bulky man who stood like a brick wall behind her. "You got here fast."

All he did was nod instead of telling her that he went a considerable amount over speed limit in order to make it there in under ten minutes. His eyes caught the cautious look that the bearded man behind Tatsu had in his eyes when he looked at Harley dancing behind them. When the bearded man's eyes caught his, he gave him a glare as if to ask what he wanted and, in his bad mood, Joker was about to snarl at him if Tatsu hadn't continued talking. "George," she addressed the man, "This is Joker. Harley's...friend. Joker, this is George, my husband."

That statement calmed down the sudden possessive monster that had come to life in him. The way that George had gazed at Harley with worry made him think that perhaps he was more than a friend. He had definitely seen the man in a couple of Harley's pictures, but then again, Harley never mentioned having a boyfriend, and it wasn't like he asked. Joker always avoided the conversation of relationships with Harley regardless of how close they had gotten. There was something about the topic that made him feel guilty for whatever reason.

Joker stuck out his hand to the man who extended his own and shook his hand with a heavy grip that Joker returned. "Good to met you." He was slightly distracted since there was loud holler behind them when Harley had swung around the chain that was hanging from the roof.

"Call me Digger. I've heard of you before. The tattoo artist," George smirked an ass-eating grin, "You sure your just a friend, mate?"

His green eyebrow rose, but he gave no reply as he pocketed his hand. Guess news traveled quickly in a group as tight as Harley's.

"Enough of that, George," Tatsu scowled knowing her husband was trying to make the other man feel awkward. By the way that Joker was acting, it didn't seem to be working. "Can you please get her down from there? She suddenly called this morning and nearly dragged us out today. Something felt off but she said that she was just stressed from work."

They all looked over to Harley who was still laughing and dancing. He had missed her smile since he had seen it yesterday. "Wait, she called this morning? You didn't have plans before?"

"No, not this week."

She did lie to him. His gut said so yesterday, but he had let it slide since he wanted her to understand the limits of their friendship. The more he looked at her now, they more he realized just how messed up of an idea that was. He had tried to set up boundaries since the first day he had seen her in Flag's apartment eating her pudding on the couch, and this situation they were in right now was like a neon sign saying that clearly it hadn't worked.

Joker didn't know what he wanted from Harley, but it sure as hell wasn't this. He didn't want to wait on the side lines while others tried to paw at her. He messed up bad yesterday, but he was determined now to fix it and make it clear to Harley exactly how the situation was.

Without hesitation, Joker stepped forward and pushed his way through the crowd making his way to the stage. Once he was at the foot of the stage he looked up at Harley's form and stood there with his arms folded until she felt his presence. He knew he had caught her attention when her eyes glazed over him for a second before she took a second look, her eyes widening.

She halted mid-step and stopped, her whole expression sobering up. Joker raised his eyebrow silently asking her to come to him, but Harley visibly shook her head before she turned her back to him and began walking to the other side of the stage.

Not taking no for an answer, Joker jumped onto the stage and with a couple quick steps caught up to her teetering form. How she was able to do a coordinated dance but barely walk was beyond him. He hooked his arm under her leg and caught her princess style.

"Puddin'! Let me down! What are you even doing here?!" The words sounded jumbled but her shriek was so loud that it alerted most of the patrons and some of the bouncers who all turned to them.

Looking around, Joker saw that the only thing stopping the guards from trying to tackle him was Incubus who held up a hand to them letting them know that everything was okay. Glancing at the rest of the people who were booing at him, he snarled. "What are you looking at?" he grumbled to those within vicinity as he ignored Harley's pounding at his chest. He heaved her form over his shoulder as he jumped down from the stage.

When it didn't stop Harley from pounding at his back, he gave a smack to her bottom. "Hey!"

"If you don't behave, Harls, there'll be more where that came from." He wasn't amused by the situation at all and practically had steam coming from his ears at having to take care of a perpetual child.

There was loud cackle that came from the blonde woman. "I'm sure you would love that." Joker had to bit his lip from cracking a smile. "Sorry everyone, Mr. J wants me all to himself tonight!" she yelled out to the other dancers as Joker took her further away from the dance floor and closer to Tatsu and Digger.

"Well I thought you would talk her down," Tatsu said to Joker when he was close enough to hear her, "But this works too."

"Tatsu! Tell him to let me down!" Harley pouted.

Walking around Joker and looking at Harley's flushed face, Tatsu flicked her friend's nose with her finger and huffed at her. "I'm sorry, girl, but we all know you are going to run away again like when Digger tried to carry you out before."

"You nearly broke my arm trying to get away, mate," Digger spoke up.

Crossing her arms, Harley glared at both of them. "That's what y'all get for trying to manhandle me."

"And him carrying you is any better?" Digger asked.

"Not really, but his grip is too tight and besides the view isn't so bad from here." Joker could feel Harley pat his butt. "Always so firm, Mr. J."

"I'm going to take her home," Joker said with a deep voice, shaking his head. There was a burning fire coursing through him that he couldn't place, but now that Harley was in his arms, it calmed a little bit. Though it still simmered making his mood rather sour. Who was he kidding, it had been sour since yesterday night. He walked away from the two friends with a short nod of his head as goodbye.

"Traitors! The both of you!" Harley yelled at her friends who both waved.

Walking through the front door, Joker saw that Incubus was back at the front lines.

"Nice to see you got your girl," he said amused. It looked comical to see a full grown man with a sulking woman thrown over his shoulder like a bag of flour.

"I'll see you in a couple weeks for your touch up," Joker replied, not really stopping to chat as he continued his track to his bike.

As he strode, he noticed that Harley had become unusually quiet. He had expected her initial exclamations but thought she would try to kick and punt him once he got her outside. He got to his bike, the sound of the club fading away leaving the hum of traffic being the only sound heard. Placing her down on the seat of his bike, he didn't know what to expect from her, but a pissed off Harley with her arms crossed and eyes blazing was not really it.

To finish the image, she crossed her legs and looked up at him in annoyance. "What are you doing here, Puddin'?"

Of course she had the right to be pissed since he did mess up royally, but it didn't help his mood. "I got a call that said I should come and pick you up."

"And why would you come? I thought you would be busy today. Don't you have ladies to call and bang like you do?" Her tone was spiteful and something she couldn't help. Over the last day, the sadness that she felt began to simmer into anger. Anger at not necessarily him, but at everything and everyone.

"What are you talking about? I'm here dragging your drunk self off of stages where everyone was ogling your ass." He gritted his teeth. He knew her anger all came back to the numbers she had seen yesterday, but if she would just let him get to that point, he would clear it all up.

"I'm not drunk! At least not anymore...and they can ogle all they want. It's not like it belongs to anyone." She stuck out her lips in a pout. "You made it pretty clear that you would rather tap some other ass, so you have no say in the matter, _friend._ "

The emphasis on the word made his eyebrow tick. He always knew she was stubborn, but when she was mad she got even more bold. And it was not missed by him when his cock jumped from how sexy she looked mad. "You were the one who first mentioned being _friends,_ toots."

"And you agreed." She stuck a finger to his chest. "So don't make it seem like it was all my fault. So go back to your ladies, and let me go back to dancing." She made to hop off the bike seat, but was stopped when Joker placed a hand on either side of her seated body.

"You're not going any where until you let me explain." Joker knew that his final attempt to keep her away from him had completely backfired. This friendship attempt was never going to work with the amount of chemistry that was flowing between them. Even now, he could feel the heat emanating from her body and tempting him.

"No!" Harley said stiffly, "You don't get to explain. I understand perfectly well exactly what you mean when you have some woman's number on you hand."

"How do you know it was a woman's number?" Joker asked. He knew it was pretty obvious from the bubbly writing that it was written in, but what else was he suppose to say. Call it stubborness but no one wanted to lose an argument. When Harley gave rose her eyebrow at him, he almost rolled his eyes. "Okay it was a woman's number, but-"

Harley inched forward until her face was within a couple inches of his. "But what?" she almost spat out.

With her eyes narrowed and blazing, and her lips within reach, arguing was the last thing on his mind. In a moment of weakness he let his eyes linger from her eyes to her lips and when he looked back up at her eyes, he saw a flash of desire run through her before she covered it up. They continued to stare at each other until Harley's tongue snuck out to wet her lips.

No one knew who moved first, but by the time he realized what was happening, Joker had melded his lips on hers.


	9. Chapter 9

_Hello hello y'all! So glad to be back! Sorry for not updating in a while. I have a few short stories in the back of my head that would not stop nagging to be written. But MERRY XMAS everyone and hope you very much enjoy this chapter!_

I'll be back with more but until then please read and review!

* * *

It had been months since he had tasted her and now it made him wonder just how he had even lasted that long. Her whimpers spurred him on and he continued to kiss her furiously being fueled by weeks worth of wet dreams and teasing touches.

He valued his friendship with Flag, but right now, there was no way he would be able to keep his promise. He had tried. Now he had no inclination of going back to just being friends.

And Harley. He wasn't sure what was going to happened with them but knowing that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her was enough incentive for him to continue kissing her.

He didn't know how long they were in a lip lock. When there was burning sensation in his chest, he realized that the need for air was calling and he pulled away from her lips with great regret.

Suddenly, his head was whipped to the side and his cheek radiated pain. It took him a second to realize that Harley had just slapped him. At first, anger boiled up in him then he began to chuckle in amusement after all he would expect nothing less from Harley. She was pissed and had every reason to be. Besides, the hit seemed to go straight to his groin and make him even harder for her.

Raising a hand to caress his cheek, he turned to face Harley who was still glaring at him with teary eyes. "Nice hit, toots," he said with his signature smirk.

* * *

Opening her mouth without thought, Harley whimpered when his tongue delved into her mouth. She joined his tongue in a battle and her eyes slid shut taking in the long-awaited sensation. Her hands clutching onto his shirt, he let her pull him closer. Her legs opening so he could step between them.

Without protest, Joker came closer and placed one hand behind her neck to angle her face. She lost tract of time but before she knew it, he was pulling away from her and her anger was coming back in droves.

How dare he let her wallow for him during the night then come waltzing in to the club and manhandle her? She enjoyed the kiss tremendously and there was no way that he could blame that on him but it just made her even more mad.

Her hand went colliding with his cheek as soon as their mouths separated, but even the surprised look on Joker's face didn't make her feel better. She was just so angry at everything. The situation, her friends, and Joker. She hated how she had to feel guilty for even wanting to kiss him again.

And when she saw his anger subside and amusement replace it, she wanted to kiss him again as much as she wanted to lobe him across the face.

"Nice hit, toots."

That's all he had to say. She crossed her arms unconsciously boosting her breasts with the motion. His eyes were drawn to them and it made her feel hot inside from pleasure not from anger. Ugh, how did he always do this to her? She was so supposed to be angry, not turning into a puddle because of his very appreciative stare.

"Why did you kiss me?" she asked him with a defiant voice.

"I didn't kiss you. You kissed me."

Harley let her eyes narrow not bothering to reply since she knew there was some truth to that statement, but the kiss had not been totally her fault. He had lunged her at the exact same time she lunged at him and had been very reciprocating.

Joker opened his mouth to say what she was sure was another sarcastic comment, but she cut him off by yanking on his shirt and colliding his lips into hers. Damn him for being irresistible and damn her for being attracted to him.

He participated eagerly and pulled her hips closer to him. Through her thin undergarments, she could feel the obvious bump that rubbed against her when she moved her hips against him. She pulled her lips away from his and nipped her way down his neck.

There was an appreciative rumble from his throat as she trailed her way down to his collar bone. "Now you can't say that I started this," Joker chuckled.

"You did start it," she said between nipping. "You kissed me first."

She felt Joker bundle her hair in his hand and used it to tilt her head. His tongue ran across her teeth and she opened her mouth in response. Their tongues prodded one another, and their teeth nipped at each others lips.

Harley placed her hands on his waist and pulled him closer to her, until her thinly veiled core was rubbing against his tented jeans. Almost moving on their own, her hips ground against his harden flesh until they were both panting. She continued her movements until Joker pulled away once again ripping a growl of frustration from her chest. With piercing eyes, she looked up at his smirking face.

"Fuck, you never play fair do you, Harls." He backed away from her and swung his leg over the bike. "We can't do this here. I need to have you spread for me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you, Mr J, not even for a fun night. I'm still mad at you." Her aching core screamed at her to shut her mouth and get laid, but her mind yelled louder telling her that her self preservation was more important. She was still steaming about all the women that he was sleeping with. He had no right to take her away from the club. Regardless of how much she wanted to wrap her legs around his waist and sink down on him until they are both in ecstasy.

Turning in his seat, Joker grabbed her chin and turned it towards him. Once again, he covered her lips with his and Harley nearly melted from the exchange. There was desperation in the way that he kissed her that made her whine into the kiss. After a minute, Joker ripped his lips away from hers.

After a moment of catching their breaths, Joker spoke. "I've been dying to do that for ages. I would have rather explained this all while buried eight inches into you, but I guess there's no helping it. The numbers were all part of a stupid idea." With her look of confusion, he ran his hand over his hair and continued. "Flag egged me take that chick's number and I honestly forgot about it. But when you saw it, I thought it would be a good way to keep you at an arms length. I can barely concentrate day-to-day with your sexy ass flouncing around me, so may be this would have hammered it in that we were just friends." There was a flash of hurt in her blue eyes and Harley tried to scoot off the seat again, but Joker's hand which had snaked around her waist held her in place. "But..."

"But?" she swallowed the word.

"But, I never called her. I haven't called anyone for months." He wasn't used to admitting his thoughts to someone, but to Harley he would talk about anything. She basically knew everything about him anyways.

* * *

She didn't know what to think because his whole plan had worked. It had made her want to keep him at a distance, but it also cut through her heart.

All of last night she had tried to make herself forget the stab of jealousy that she felt, but the feeling never left and instead festered into this raging anger. No amount of shots could make her forget him. She had called the girls in a huff and had gone out tonight fully wanting to forget about Joker and enjoy herself. Yet repeatedly, his face popped up in her mind and her resolve to erase any memory of him would falter. Even now, the shots of vodka she had earlier that night had little effect.

"That was a stupid plan." She crossed her arms. "I don't know whether to be furious with you or relieved that you didn't sleep with anyone. And why wouldn't you call anyone? There are plenty of ladies out there for you." Harley continued to pout, her blue eyes drilling into his. She was rambling now but her emotions were reeling.

Her tough girl routine fell apart when Joker's hand cupped the apex of her thighs and she felt him tease her entrance. Instead of a snappy comment, a moan came from her as she bit into her lower lip. Her eyes remained glued onto Joker's which were now lit with lust; lust that reflected hers.

"Now why would I want to do that when the only chick I want to get up for is always at my shop or at my apartment." His lips were at her ears. "I would rather have you in my bed though."

"Puddin', what happened to being friends?" She said it in curiosity rather than caring about the pact that they made months ago.

Joker scowled. "That word is like poison that we throw around in order to stop this sexual chemistry between us. I've already decided that there is no way I can last another hour without tasting that pussy of yours again. Are you with me or do I have to coerce you?" Quickly yanking the fabric to the side, Joker grazed her soaked core with his fingers and groaned. "I bet you've been this wet for months, right Harls?"

Hearing his acceptance of the situation left her with no choice to make because when it came to Joker, she was always ready for more. She didn't want to think about the consequences right now. He didn't mention anything about a relationship. It stung that all he wanted was her body, but at this point she thought it a better option than what they had been doing before; circling around each other just waiting for someone to crack, and now they both cracked under the sexual pressure.

Screw responsibility and self preservation, she wanted this. She wanted him, in any way, shape or form.

Tonight when she saw his face in the crowd, she was first worried that he was a figment of her imagination. She would be lying if she said that it was the first time her over active imagination had tricked her. Though when she saw his eyes filled with anger and lust, Harley knew that it was him. She had seen the look lots of times through out their friendship, but even though Joker wanted her it never before spurred him to take action, regardless of how much she wanted him to. Running away from him was her first reaction, since she didn't want to look at the falsehood flashing in his eyes. It was going to be just like any other night when he would look at her with such an intense stare when he thought she wasn't looking and then go right back to being friends.

Except now there was no going back.

Now he was doing something that she had only been dreaming that he would do for weeks and months. And there was no way that she was going to say no to something that she wanted just as much. Consequences be damned, she was going to have Joker. Even if it was only for a little while.

When she felt the pad of his finger press against her clit, her hesitant expression morphed into a lusty grin and she let out a cackle as she reached out to cup the obvious bulge in his pants. "I bet you've been this hard for months, right Puddin'?" she repeated his words back to him and laughed even more when Joker's dick pulsed in response.

With a growl, he devoured her lips for a quick minute before turning away. He didn't look back at her when he spoke. "I'm taking you home, Harls. I need to be inside you again."

The words made a shiver go up her spine. She was normally a very responsible and intelligent person, but for unknown reasons, she always became impulsive and irrational when it came to Joker. It could be the only explanation for why she was no longer having second thoughts about going home with him. Though, it could also be due to the alcohol she consumed and the ache that was burning between her thighs.

Instead of swinging her leg over the bike so that she was saddled behind him, she jumped to the ground and before Joker could protest, walked near the front of the bike and sat down in the space between him and the handle bars. When his eyebrow peeked in curiosity, she smirked before straddling the bike so that she was facing him. She scooted as close to his body as she could and dug her free hand under his shirt and across his toned abs.

As Harley left trails of love bites on his neck, Joker grabbed onto the handle bars and reeved the engine. "Keep that up, toots, and it's going to be a very long drive to my place."

"Then find a closer place," Harley said innocently while looking up at him with doe eyes. He would have fallen for the nice girl act if she wasn't already unbuttoning his pants and trying to play with his dick through the fabric.

"You sure you're going to be okay riding backwards like that?" Joker asked, "You were already unstable on you feet."

"Is Mr. J worried about me?" Harley taunted and batter her eyelashes at him. "Don't worry, Puddin', the alcohol ran through my system already and I'll hold on tight."

With a nod, he wasted no more time and tore through the streets of Gotham. Ten minutes to his house was too long. He knew a much closer place to go.

* * *

Joker nearly slammed Harley into the apartment door in their haste.

It had been a long five-minute drive with all the teasing nips and touches that Harley taunted him with. The sheer audacity of the woman to rub the tip of his dick while crossing an intersection regardless of possibly causing a major accident. Damn, he loved her crazy self.

He melded his lips onto hers as their bodies ground against each other trying to get more friction. When feeling her over her clothes wasn't enough, Joker hiked one of Harley's legs and wrapped it around his waste so he could press up against her core.

"Bet you want this in you right now, don't you, babe?" he growled in her ear as he moved her hips against his.

"Your mean, Mr. J," she moaned, but didn't stop him from moving her hips. Instead, she spurred him on by pressing closer to him.

"I'd love to get you back for what you did on the bike, but right now, I really don't want to play games. I want to be inside of this tight cunt of yours." Suddenly he backed away from her and slid a key from his pockets, unlocking the door before Harley could even get her breathing straight.

Stepping into the apartment, Joker shut the door, quickly kicked off his shoes and turned around to see Harley trying to take off her heels. He grinned and picked her up bridal style before cantering to the one of the bedrooms.

"Puddin'!" Harley giggled. "My shoes!"

"No time. Besides it would be sexy if they were the only things on while I fuck you." He let out a chuckle which turned into a full out laugh when he saw the look of desire in Harley's eyes at the image he just created.

Mid-laugh, he felt a kiss on his chin and then arms wrapping around his neck to drag him closer to her face. She gave him a peck on the lips and nibbled on her lower lip until he gave her entrance. Harley always tasted intoxicating to the point where even the taste of alcohol that laced her mouth registered second in his mind. He could kiss her all night, and if he had any say in it he would be doing just that and so much more.

When he stepped into the bedroom, he interrupted their kiss by dropping her on the bed. He watched he breasts bounce with her body she sat up on the bed.

Joker whipped his jacket off and his shirt soon followed. Looking back at Harley, he wasn't surprised to see that she was still in her clothes eyeing his naked chest. "Take them off, Harls. Or I'm ripping them off you." His voice was deep as his eyes bore into hers.

Not taking her eyes off him, Harley unzipped the loose dress and began to slip the sleeves off her shoulders. As the dress fell, she placed her arm across her chest to cover them from Joker's view. She could see that his breathing was becoming more laboured and she loved that she was the one that he was pining for. Just like that, she stared up at him with a coy expression with the tattoo marking her chest half in view.

"Drop your arm, Harley," Joker commanded.

She knew that it was killing him not to be able to look at all of her body, just like how it was killing her how he leisurely popped his jean button and began to slowly unzip it. Apparently, months of waiting for this moment didn't stop them from teasing one another. All Harley could do was lick her lips as the metal teeth of the zipper were undone exposing the trail of hair that acted as an arrow to her prize. Goodness, she was almost panting, and he wasn't even touching her.

When the zipper got to the bottom, she expected him to yank down the denim material, but instead he paused and climbed onto the mattress. Without removing her arm, Harley moved backwards until her back hit the head board, her eyes never leaving his. Joker didn't stop his approach until he was crowding her space.

"Drop it, Harls," his voice was deep shooting a shiver through her. It didn't help that he placed a hand on her thigh close to her most sensitive area.

With his intense stare, she instinctively dropped her arm exposing the pale mounds and dark print that stamped her as his. Joker let out a growl of approval as he took her in. As if he couldn't help himself, he reached out and weighed one of her breasts in his hands before running his thumb across the perked nipple. She didn't disappoint him when she let out a whimper at the contact. His fingers were always calloused from his job and the gym and she loved it that way. There was something about a working man that made her hot for them.

For a minute, he leisurely stroked her body savouring her responses, but when she reached out for the aching flesh between Joker's thighs it was as if a switch had been flicked on and all of a sudden she found her self laying on her back with her arms pinned over her head. It took a while for her to realize what occurred, but when she did, she felt her heart pick up speed in anticipation.

"You have no idea how many times I've dreamed about seeing you like this," he growled as he dipped his head to lick the sensitive skin on her neck.

Through her moans, Harley managed to get out a couple of words. "Never knew you to be the type to fantasize, Mr. J."

"When it comes to you, Harls, I had you on all fours one night, up against the wall the next, and in the kitchen and bathroom the next morning." As he spoke, Harley could feel his touches become hastier and his mouth began sucking roughly at her neck. His motions had her rubbing her legs together so she could feel some relief.

"Well I'm here now. And I would love to do _everything_ you have ever dreamed off."

"Good. I intend to do _everything._ "

They shared a smirk before Joker leaned down and captured her lips. As he distracted her with his mouth, his free hand slid down her body scratching and groping as it went until it reached the apex of her thighs. With a quick flick of his wrist, he pushed aside the thin fabric and pressed a finger against her soaked entrance.

Feeling the stretch in her core at his finger's intrusion, Harley moaned into his mouth. Her whimpers and sounds only increased when Joker began to pump the digit inside of her at a steady pace. After a while, the speed picked up and she had a hard time concentrating on kissing him, the pleasure inside of her taking over her every thought.

"You weren't lying about not sleeping with anyone since we met?" The words flew out of her hazy mind as she continued to kiss him.

Pulling away slightly, he looked down with one eye brow raised as if wondering why such a question was in her head at a time like this. "My cock couldn't even get up for anyone of them. Guess it suddenly had standards." Joker stared directly into her eyes. "But that look in your eyes, makes me harder than anything."

When he went back to kissing her, it obliterated anything that she was thinking of saying.

He pumped the single digit into her until he felt her loosen enough to insert a second digit and continue the movement. When his thumb began to press against her clit, Harley pulled her lips away from his in a gasp. It had been so long since she had felt this much pleasure, and it was heightened when his tongue started lavishly licking at her neck and collar bone. She always loved the shiver that it sent up her spine when Joker was at her neck.

She wiggled her arms, which were still trapped above her head in hopes of getting lose. It was getting hard not being able to touch him. She wanted to scratch at his skin and run her hands through his hair.

Joker always looked handsome when he was concentrated on something, whether it was a tattoo or a design. And now he was focused on her.

"Let me go, Puddin'," she whined and wriggled some more.

"Not yet, toots, I like having you at my mercy. And from the amount of fluid coming out of here," he pressed his fingers deeper into her, "I would say that you like it too."

She wasn't going to deny something so truthful. There was something about not being able to control the situation that was so liberating to her. Trust was built between the two of them so she didn't mind giving over control to Joker. She just wished she could touch him too.

There wasn't much time to dwell on her thoughts when his fingers began to move faster and soon only the winding pleasure that was building inside of her was all she could think of. The closer to her climax she got, the more she panted and wriggled. Just as her eyes began to roll back and her back began to arch, almost reaching the pinnacle, Joker quickly withdrew his fingers and replaced them with something much bigger.

When she felt the stretch from her body trying to accommodate him, she let out a small shriek from surprise and delight. She was so busy with his touches that she hadn't noticed when he had pulled down his jeans enough to let his member out. At least she didn't notice until it was penetrating her.

* * *

Joker let out a grunt when he sunk deep inside of Harley. With one thrust, he was fully in. He wanted to enjoy the exhilaration that he felt from being inside of her squeezing walls again, but he couldn't help himself from withdrawing and thrusting back in. He needed more friction. From the way that Harley screamed out in desire, it was clear that she wasn't against his sudden movement.

Joker looked down at her face and licked his lips when her eyes found his. Her normally bright eyes were slightly glazed over, but they focused on him a moment later. She was so beautiful in the dim light that was streaming through the windows and the her hair clinging to the moisture that coated her skin in a sheen.

"Puddin'," she panted and wriggled her hands. Yielding to her request, Joker let go of her wrists and growled when her hands immediately captured his neck and pulled his face closer to hers so she could plant a hungry kiss on his lips.

With both his hands now free, he clasped her waist as she continued to ravish his mouth. He pinned her hips and began to move faster inside of her. It didn't take him long to build her back up to her climax and soon he could feel the signature pulsing whenever she began to get close to her orgasm.

She ripped her face from his and let out a fragmented version of his name. "Come on, Harls," he smirked at her, "Come on, baby, come for daddy."

"O my go-. Puddi-. Please." He increased his thrusts and was spurred on when her nails dug into his back.

"Harder, Harls," he instructed her and let out an approving sound when she dug her nails in deeper and began to scratch at his taut back. He reveled in the pain that coursed through him.

Harley let out several incoherent words just as her body seized. Joker felt her walls suck him in as he continued to ride her throughout her orgasm and couldn't help but reach up to tweak one of her nipples.

He slowed down slightly letting her come down from her high as he continued to caress her curves. When her breathing went back to normal, he saw the smile that was on her lips and heard the laugh that she let out. It was filled with joy and was one of his favourite sounds to hear.

"You back with me?" he chuckled. He toyed with her nipples as she tried to form words.

"I can't believe I haven't jumped you in two months," she laughed and dragged her fingers across his skin until they reached where they were connected at the pelvis. As he continued to pump into her at a torturous speed, she gripped the base of his cock and gave it a squeeze. "You're cock fills me so well, Mr. J."

He watched her fingers when they moved from being around his length to her clit. With on hand, she spread her lower lips and with the other she massaged the little bundle. His eyes narrowed at her. "Not satisfied yet?"

"Get enough of you?" she batted her eye lashes. "Never."

Joker let out a chuckle. She was always so perfect with the same crazy stamina that he had. He released her breast from his grip with great regret and instead moved her legs from being around his waist to lay over his shoulders. The position let him sink in deeper but he could still see Harley touching herself. He saved the image of one of her hands on her clit and the other now cupping her breast in his mind. It was quite possibly the hottest thing he had ever seen.

When she moaned after tweaking one of her nipples, he swore his dick became steel. He could pound in nails at this point.

Harley glanced at him and gave him a small smirk. The look on his face let him know that she was enjoying taunting him.

"You don't want to play that game, Harls," he growled at her.

He nearly choked on the words when he felt her clench her walls several times of her own accord and gave him an innocent look. "What do you mean, J?"

Instead of replying, Joker pressed deep into her and then withdrew until only his tip was inside of her. He surged in and smirked when no sound escaped her parted mouth. She wanted to play? Honey, he was the one who invented the game.

Using her legs as leverage, he pistoled into her barely giving her any time to breath. He kept up his fast pace and began to feel the distinct pull at his scrotum.

After a while, Harley had given up teasing herself and opted to grip the bed sheets under her. Regardless of having already come, Joker could tell that she was getting close again from the way that she was praising him with screamed versions of his name. She was always loud when they fucked, but he love it.

He reached down between her thighs and roughly pressed against her clit at a particularly hard thrust. In that moment, she yelled his name and her body spasmed as he forced a hard orgasm out of her.

One look at the expression on her face and her sweat coated body, he felt his scrotum squeeze and adrenaline coursed through him causing his heart to pump harder. He stilled inside of her, joining her in bliss.

After a minute, the only sounds that could be heard in the room was their deep breaths.

Joker cursed and withdrew his now softened member from inside her. He let out a groan when he saw the dribble of cum flow from inside her. There was a part of him that worried he had came inside of her and another part that roared that he had claimed her. He marked her so deep that even if some one was to get her naked and in bed, it would be him that Harley thought about.

The thought of someone being in bed with Harley made him frown slightly. He didn't want anyone touching her like he touched her.

They may have danced around each other for months, but now that he finally had her again, he didn't know when he was ever going to get sick of her. From the excitement he felt just looking at her spread legs, he knew that this once was definitely not enough.

"I'm still on the pill, Puddin'," her voice broke his thoughts and his eyes slid from between her legs to her eyes. "And I'm clean, I swear."

"Good. I'm clean too. I don't like latex between us." He didn't wear a condom with her the first time and had gotten checked immediately after. He always wore protection with other women, but when it came to Harley, he wanted nothing in the way.

He shuffled off the bed and stood, slipping his flaccid member back into his jeans. When Harley began to sit up, he held up a hand to halt her movement. "Don't move. I'm going to get a cloth to clean you up."

Harley gave him a smile before settling back on the bed. With her legs still spread and with several red marks and scratches on her skin, Harley looked better than any wet dream. It gave him satisfaction that if anyone was to see her dancing around a stage anytime soon, they would know that someone was pleasing her when the night came and they didn't have to waste their time even trying to get her attention.

He turned from her and was about to walk in the bathroom when her gasp stopped him. He turned around and saw her surprised expression. Cocking an eyebrow in question, he saw Harley lift a finger and point at him.

* * *

"Your back. It's totally bleeding," Harley said sounding as guilty as she felt. Red scratches marred his porcelain white skin and blood oozed from the deeper cuts. Even the tattoo that she had done had a scratch through it. "I'm sorry, Puddin', it must hurt."

She felt perplexed when Joker shrugged. "I like it." He nodded his head towards her. "Besides it makes us even."

It was only then that she looked down and saw the various red love bites that marked her body. She let out a slight ekk and then began to laugh. "I'm never going to be able to cover these up."

Joker shot her a smirk. "That's the point."

With that he turned back around and walked into the bathroom.

After they were both cleaned up, Joker came back into the bedroom and saw that Harley was already under the covers and patting one side of the bed, waiting for him to crawl in with her.

He pulled his jeans down and kicked them off before slipping in under the chilly blankets. As soon as he was settled on the pillow, Harley burrowed closer and placed her head on his chest with her arm draped across his body.

"What are we going to do about all this?" she whisper into his chest and then let out a yawn.

Joker hummed and placed his arm around her shoulders. He played with a lock of her hair. "Beats me. We'll think about that another time."

For a second, she remained quiet. She knew that there was a skim chance that sleeping together - regardless of him not sleeping with anyone else - meant anything to Joker other than sex. However, there was still a small part of herself that kept on making what if scenarios. She squashed that part of her mind as well as the part that nagged that she was way deeper than she was supposed to be. It may amount to nothing in the end, but there was no way that she would be able to walk away from him. Not now.

"Okay," she replied and closed her eyes.

So long as they didn't have the talk about what this all meant, it meant that she could stay by his side. For that she would be more than willing to keep going down the rabbit hole, no matter how far down it went.


	10. Chapter 10

_Hello y'all! Sorry been long time since I updated but reality caught up and I put off writing. But hope this chapter makes up for that. I will be back with another chapter as soon as I can but it may take a month or so._

 _Enjoy everyone and please let me know what ya'll think! :D_

* * *

Flag whistled as he closed the door to his car and strolled towards the apartment complex. Twirling his keys around his finger, he punched in the code for the front doors of the building and took the stairs two at a time.

He wasn't normally so chipper but after spending the night with June he always was. She always made his days and nights better.

He was a couple doors down from his apartment when his neighbour's door swung open nearly grazing him. With a quick step out of the way, he gave a small head tilt in the blonde haired man's direction intending to continue walking.

"Coming back from dropping off your lady? Sounded like you had a good time last night," the young man said as Flag made to step around him.

Stopping in his step, he turned to question him but froze when he saw the ass-eating smirk that was spread on the young man's face. "What are you talking about, Jace?"

"The rhythmic thudding against my walls last night." He watched as Jace closed his door and locked it behind him. "Shit, man, from all the noise coming from your apartment, I thought you were finally trying to get me back for having that party a couple weeks ago. I couldn't get any sleep until you and your girl stopped hopping on each other. I honestly did not think that the brunette that you're dating was a screamer, but damn does she have strong lungs."

What the hell was he talking about? And Jace was right, June wasn't a screamer. Besides that, he wasn't even in his apartment last night. "What time did this all start?" Flag asked with a straight face, not bothering to laugh at the man's humour.

Jace's face contorted in confusion. "How out of it were you? It was early morning some time. I don't know. You might want to keep it down next time. I don't care, but Mrs. Hillberg on the other side might call you in. That old woman needs to get laid."

Flag's eyebrow physically ticked. "I wasn't in my apartment last night."

"Then who the hell was?"

There were only a couple of people who had access to his apartment—June, Frost and Joker. June was with him last night and Frost never used the emergency key he gave him which left only one person. "Some one who is totally going to get his ass kicked," Flag growled out slightly before heading to his apartment door with a small wave to his neighbour.

Not wasting time, he unlocked the door and pushed it open. His eyes widened when he took in the carnage that surrounded him.

Men's shoes laid haphazardly on the mat and coats and other articles of clothing were thrown over his couch. As his eyes followed the trail of clothing leading to his guest bedroom, he silently thanked the universe that Joker at least had the decency to not use his bed room or the living room for his exploit. However, when he heard a loud moan coming for said bedroom, his gratitude evaporated.

Regardless of his steps being measured and quiet as he entered the apartment and stepped closer to the bedroom door, he was sure that Joker knew he was back and the fact that it didn't even stop him from doing whatever unsavory activities he was doing with some woman made his blood curdle. Joker did sleep in his apartment occasionally after a long night of partying or if he needed to crash after hitting and quitting, but he never brought women over. Heck, the man didn't even let women see the inside of his own apartment always claiming that it was like inviting them to stay over or come back for seconds.

So why the hell was he using his apartment like a bang pad and not even bothering to stop? His anger powered him as he stomped the rest of the way to the bedroom and instead of knocking, twisted the bedroom knob and then proceeded to kick the door open.

The door slammed against the wall and Flag heard a shriek. Before he could get a glimpse of the women who was riding on top of Joker, a blanket was whipped over their naked bodies so that the only thing he could see was Joker's face and shoulders. Regardless of being livid at his best friend, Flag was still thankful for Joker's fast reflex. He really didn't want to see Joker's junk embedded in some chick. The thought made him shiver.

"What the fuck, Flag?" Joker seethed from his position. His hand was over the covers and around the bump that was obviously the woman trying to hide herself. Flag paid her no mind.

"I should be asking you the same thing," Flag glared back, crossing his arms over his chest. "I really don't appreciate coming home and being interrogated by my neighbour about how wild my night was and then coming inside to see that a tornado buzzed through my-"

He stopped talking when he saw that the bump under the covers was still moving. He could see the tick in Joker's jaw and the glaze in his eyes; a neon sign that he wasn't listening to anything he was saying. "For the love of. Don't tell me she's still going even in this situation? Motherfucker. "

Instead of answering, Joker placed his hand on the lump and began to move what Flag knew was probably her hips. "You might want to give us a couple of minutes, man. You kind of interrupted right when we getting to the good part and she can't seem to wait. Fuck babe-" Joker groaned and Flag nearly gagged. He did not need to see this and seriously needed to scrub his eyes with bleach. Or maybe he should just gouge them out to prevent any risk of seeing this again. "You might want to go unless you want to see something you will never get out of your head."

Before Joker even said the last sentence, Flag was already closing the door with a bang. "You got five minutes, fucker!" he yelled through the door and grabbed his gym bag before stomping to exit. He couldn't stay in the apartment regardless of wanting to corner Joker and pummel him. He might as well go pummel a punching bag for a bit.

As he quickly slipped on his shoes, he noticed a detail that he had missed in his anger. Joker's jacket laid on the couch and a memory rang in his head.

He cursed under his breath before his eyes narrowed at the closed door of the guest room. Again, a groan hit his ears, and he quickly turned away and walked through the front door.

Joker had a lot of talking to do.

* * *

"Fuck, baby." Joker groaned as he ripped the blanket off their bodies and revealed Harley's porcelain skin. She sat up and continued to move her hips against him, her mouth parting and a blush on her cheeks from exertion. Leaning forward, Joker shifted their positions, so he was on his haunches and she still straddled his hips. It gave him more control and as much as he wanted to continue watching her ride him, he seriously needed her to come. He increased his thrusts and connected their lips. "Fuck, baby. That was mean to do."

Not only did he wake up from a hot dream to find Harley's mouth working his cock, but then she sat on him until they were both panting. The woman was heaven sent. He had woken her up last night by working his cock into her wet snatch and she participated eagerly. She had the same crazy libido as him and it made him even harder for her.

Harley gripped his hair with her fingers and pulled so tightly that he swore she was going to make him go bald. Though from the feel of her pussy squeezing at him, he would not mind losing hair because this sex-crazed kitten.

"I'm sorry, Puddin'," she moaned into his mouth. "I trie-, I tried to stay still. Bu-oh oh Mr. J! I was so close."

He didn't care if people heard their activities or even saw them. In fact, it turned him on immensely and from the way Harley gripped him when they were about to be caught by Flag, he knew that she didn't mind either. As long as others knew who it was that was buried inside of her and making her scream, he didn't care.

"So naughty, Harls. You just couldn't wait for me to move my cock inside of you, could you? Or maybe you just wanted Flag to see me fucking you?" Her moans were his answer. Giving her ass a smack as he pistoned inside of her making her yelp. A smile stretched over his lips.

"Oh Mr. J, I'm ganna come. Please please." He heard her plea and felt the heat of her breath against his ear.

Placing his hands around her waist, he increased his thrusts while she clung onto him. Her nails bit into his back and he could feel it reopen some of the trenches that she had placed there last night. The idea of being marked by her should have turn him off since he hated it when women tried to claim him, but for some reason, it just made him more aroused. There didn't seem to be anything that Harley could do to turn him off.

He heard her chant his name like her life depended on it. "Harls, baby, look at me." He wanted to see her come, but that wasn't possible if her face was buried in his neck. When she didn't comply, he slowed his pace a little even if it killed him in the inside. Her groan of frustration mirrored his own frustration; he wanted to blow a load inside of her, but damn did he want to see her face even more. "You want to come, toots, show me your face."

With her limbs shaking, she pulled away from his body. He watched as she ran a hand through her unruly hair moving it away from her reddened face. "Please, J. Hurry," she nearly cried the words out and now that he got what he wanted, he was more than willing to comply.

Her baby blue eyes locked onto his and he saw her eyes glaze over after a couple of hard thrusts. Her lips parted but no scream or pant was heard. He did this to her, made her come so hard that she blacked out as her pussy clenched around his length milking him. After a few hard thrusts, he felt his body jolt as he came.

After their bodies stopped shaking, he fell onto his back dragging her body along with him. For a moment, they laid there with their bodies still connected breathing in the smell of sex in the room. Then suddenly he burst out laughing.

It didn't take long for Harley to join him.

"Flag is going to kill me," he laughed hysterically. "We fucked in his apartment."

"We fucked in front of him," Harley giggled. Then suddenly she jolted upright. He groaned when he felt his member shift inside of her.

When he looked at her shocked face, he was so sure that she was about to have a freak out about their best friends knowing. He was about to calm her down when she started to laugh hysterically as her eyes scanned the room. "I didn't even notice that this wasn't your apartment. You've officially fucked me stupid, Mr. J."

Sitting up, he placed his hand on her cheek and dragged her face closer until he could meld his lips against hers. "Better get used to it. Won't be the last time I make your mind go blank."

"I hope not," she said with a giggle.

* * *

Joker hopped off his bike and made sure his duffel bag was secured over his shoulder before making his way into the gym.

After another scorching round in the shower, he had dropped off Harley at her apartment then again at the clinic where she worked. Sometimes he felt like a taxi, but like hell he was going to let her take the sketchy bus. The woman would plead with him to let her take the bus since she felt like she was a bother to him. He knew that she would take the bus and wouldn't blink twice about it. It was just who she was, but if he was free, it was no trouble for him to drop her off.

Somewhere along the way, they had both agreed that this was a casual thing. They were still friends and considering how they were functioning properly for the last couple months regardless of the sexual tension, they would stay friends. But friends who messed around.

Harley understood that he didn't want a relationship and even mentioned that she didn't have the time for one with her schedule. They were on the same page about the situation, and while he worried about what might happened after they had tired of each other, he wouldn't think about it until they had to cross that bridge.

From the way they had torn at each others' clothes, he knew that they wouldn't get their fill for quite some time anyways. With the way he had basically been pining after her for months, he knew that the one night was not enough.

All while he went through the morning with Harley, he knew that his phone was burning in his pocket with an unread text message from Flag. It had been sent literally five minutes after the man had left the apartment and it said one word.

 _Gym._

One word from Flag was never a good thing. It meant that he was issuing an incontestable command like he had throughout their years in the Marines. Joker knew that no matter what he had to talk to him, so he had stopped by his apartment to grab his bag before taking off to meet his friend.

There was a good chance that Flag knew who was in his apartment that morning. He had hidden Harley before Flag ever peeked at her naked body, but his gut nagged at him. His friend most definitely knew. And now he was going to get his ass kicked because of it.

As he entered the gym, he took a cursory glance around and spotted his friend near the punching bags. From the way Flag attacked the bag, it didn't take a genius to see how frustrated the man was. He couldn't even blame him. If he had seen Flag in bed with June…well, he wouldn't have freaked out like that. Instead he would have stared at them and smirked until they felt awkward about it. But Flag wasn't like Joker, he was a bit more fragile and romantic.

He walked further into the gym and glanced at a familiar figure who was glaring at him—Amanetta. He gave her a passing glance as he strolled by. At least the woman had figured out that he wasn't interested.

Earlier he had a fleeting idea of telling Flag it had been her under the covers, but he was sick of lying. He was normally blatantly honest and unapologetic for what he did and said that the months of lying was taking a toll on him.

No matter what happened now, he would own up to it. He knew that it wasn't enough for him to have her body a couple of times. Until they were both satisfied, there was no way that they would be ending whatever it was they were doing.

He considered her a close friend, but damn could she move her body. She had been right when she had mentioned a couple months back that their bodies were compatible.

When he was at the bench closest to the punching bags, he dropped his duffel bag and shook off his jacket. He had already changed into his gym clothes at the apartment and instead took a quick minute to wrap his hands before approaching his friend.

Flag kept his eyes where his fists connected, but Joker could tell that the man was aware of his presence. They had kept each other safe for years with their instincts, there was no way that it would just vanish once they were back to city life.

Not bothering to announce his arrival, Joker stood behind Flag for a second before he saw the shift in his friend's posture. With a quick pivot, Flag's fist was flying straight at Joker's face. Joker evaded and felt the fist near his ear. He should have let Flag punch him. He deserved it, but his body moved before he knew it.

Evading the punch had placed him in the perfect area for Flag to reach out and place his neck in a head lock. Within seconds, Flag was behind him with his neck held between his arm and forearm. Joker's hands went directly for the forearm that was slowly squeezing the air flow from his throat, but he didn't try to buck Flag off from behind him and instead just tapped hard on the man's arm.

Seconds went by and still Joker stood and held his breath as Flag cut off his air.

When the man finally let his grip loosen, Joker pushed away from him and took in a deep breath. The air didn't go in smooth and he sputtered and coughed as he did so.

After he regained his composure, Joker turned to face his friend and was not surprised to see the stern mask on Flag's face. It wasn't the first time he had seen it and it would definitely not be the last. It was the emotionless mask that he donned when ever he was disappointed with whatever it was that the men of his troop had done—or whatever Joker had done.

Flag totally knew about Harley. Now he had to tiptoe around and find the right word to diffuse the bomb before Flag murdered him.

"To be fair, it was your fault I ended up fucking her." Okay, maybe those weren't the correct words.

Joker watched as Flag's eyebrow ticked. Definitely not the bomb diffusing words.

"So, it was my fault that you ended up in the guest bedroom of my apartment balls deep in a woman?" Flag's words were laced with annoyance and his back was rod straight.

Joker lifted his arms in defense. "Okay, it was my fault we ended up in the apartment," he ran a hand through his hair. "It was a crazy night last night and your place was the closest."

"And of course, neither of you could wait." The way he spoke the words hinted at what had happened earlier that day when Harley had blatantly moved on top of him. Not that Joker complained when she did.

A smile almost snuck onto his face when he thought back to the urgency that was on Harley's flushed face. He had to stop it before it made the already serious Flag even colder than stone.

"I didn't think you would have busted the door down."

Silence stretched between them and only the sounds of weights being dropped, and the grunts of other gym occupants could be heard. There was nothing else for them to discuss except for one thing...

Joker knew what question was coming, but like hell he was going to be the one to bring it up. When the silence didn't end, Joker sighed and gave in.

"You're really going to make me say it?"

Flag didn't move his gaze from his face. "Say what?"

"Come on, man." Joker watched as Flag crossed his arms and continued to stare at him. Ugh, how he hated it when he did the commander stare down.

"Who was the woman, Joker?" And there it was, the million-dollar question.

It didn't take much for Harley's name to be right on the tip of his tongue. He wanted to tell Flag especially when he had always felt guilty for hiding his friendship with Harley from him. Now that sex was added to the equation, and that Flag had caught them, it just felt wrong to not tell his brother. The more he looked at his friend, he knew that the man wouldn't take some bullshit answer. Flag already knew, so he might as well fess up.

"I slept with Harley."

The silence that stretched afterwards was deafening. It was as if all the other noises around them vanished and there was nothing left except for the awkward eye contest going on between them.

Joker watched as Flag's hands tightened on his crossed arms. Flag's chest lifted and his nose flared as he took a deep inhale.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked, his voice flat.

"Now that is a simple question with a complicated answer." Did he mean when they began to hang out or when they began to sleep together? Since the sleeping together—after the initial and second time they had sex, that is—only happened last night, he opted for the less time frame of the two to make it seem like they were hiding it for less time.

Flag let his hands fall to his sides. "Why the hell did you do this, man? You gave me your word that you wouldn't touch her. We're brothers. Not by blood, but by choice. We covered for each other in high school and jumped in front of danger for one another in battle. In all the years I've known you, you don't give your word lightly and never have I seen you break it. Not to us, not to your brothers. So why the hell did you do it?"

Flag was right; they were brothers and he never broke his word. He wasn't an honourable man but on the rare instances that he pledged something, he came through with it.

He had pledged that he would never touch someone slightly related to Flag's girlfriends and he kept his word. He pledged that he would not call up Harley and, at the time, he meant it no matter how much the memory of her haunted him. But he broke both of these promises when he was finally face to face with Harley.

Though in a way, he did keep his word about not calling her, but the months of scuttling around probably negated any credit he could claim for that.

"Look, I don't know. I don't know why the hell I did it." And he really didn't. He told Frost yesterday that he didn't know what this was between him and Harley, or why it was as complicated as it was easy, and he meant it. "You don't think I tried to stay away from her? It was one week. I made it one week of not pressing the call button under her name before she showed up at my doorstep."

Flag looked as if he was about to speak but Joker cut him off. "Which was your fault by the way. She would have never found me if you weren't screwing June in her apartment."

Why is it that sex made everything so much more complicated? He would never be in this situation if he hadn't screwed Harley for the first time, or if Flag hadn't screwed June or if he hadn't screwed Harley for the second…and third time.

"So, your blaming me for the whole thing?" Flag fumed.

"Would you buy it if I did?"

Flag answered him by narrowing his eyes. "J, what in the world are you doing? You've never been led around by your dick. Ever. You even made that stupid rule about not dating any one even remotely close to me. Which by the way, I never asked you to do."

"You can't say that rule didn't save a couple of your relationships over the years," Joker mumbled and moved closer to Flag and the punching bag. When Flag didn't reach out to clobber him again, he kept walking until he was a couple feet away from the hanging bag and jabbed to strike it. He took a couple more hits before he stopped, satisfied to watched it swing back and forth.

He turned around to look Flag dead in the eye and let out a deep breath. "I avoided her, but she showed up, and for some messed up reason, we just kept on hanging out."

"Having a friend-with-benefits relationship isn't considered hanging out, J," Flag said.

Joker winced. Not because Flag had said relationship, but because now he had to clarify the time line and reveal some thing that Flag probably never considered before. He was so hoping that Flag would just think they had been fucking the whole time. It would be less awkward.

"Other than the first day she stopped by to see me, we haven't had sex until tonight." There he said it and instantly felt the air thicken.

It wasn't a sentence that was particularly shocking to normal people, but when someone knew him as well as Flag did it was surprising. It was pretty common knowledge to Flag and Frost that Joker never had friends. He had brothers that he trusted with his life, but he did not trust lightly.

It was one of the reasons Frost was so incredulous yesterday. However, Frost was not Flag. While Frost took things in stride and didn't jump to conclusions, Flag was a romantic who might see this as being more than just a fling with Harley.

"That's total bullshit," Flag spat out. "I saw your jacket at her house a week back. And don't you dare say it wasn't yours since you had thrown the damn thing at my couch last night."

Joker's eyes whipped over to where he had left his bag and sure enough there laid the leather jacket. Then his eyes narrowed at Flag. So that's how he knew. That's why he had grilled him for answers days ago.

"If you knew, why didn't you just come right out and say it? What was up with all the cryptic questions?" Joker's anger rose when Flag's did. He didn't like being accused, especially when this time he was telling the truth.

"Because I gave you benefit of the doubt." Fuck, that one stung. Flag walked closer to him and stopped when they were practically toe to toe. "I didn't tell you to stay away from Harley since there was no way she would have torn June from me if everything went south with you. She's a sweet woman so I just told you to tread lightly. You guys would see each other again since your best friends are dating but I thought that you would have the decency to at least tell me about what the fuck was happening."

As Flag ranted, Joker's anger slowly ebbed away and again the feeling of guilt surface. He wasn't accustomed to the emotion. It wasn't until he remembered his conversation with Harley from earlier that the feeling went away.

He may not know why his hard on was always pointed at Harley or why he seemed to be obsessed with her, but he did know that they had a friendship—even if he did admit that reluctantly as he hated being even slightly reliant on someone—and for that he wouldn't feel guilty.

"I feel like shit for going against your back, but I haven't been screwing Harley for months. We thought it would be better to stay friends but just kept tiptoeing around each other. It was like I had a permanent hard on." Flag groaned in disgust, so Joker didn't tell him that he practically still had a hard on for the woman. "We kept it together until you made me get that phone number then shit imploded when she thought I was sleeping around."

"So, you weren't sleeping around?" Flag asked suspiciously. Again, he wasn't known for keeping his dick under wraps for more than a few days.

"No." His prick suddenly thought that it should have standards and didn't get up for anyone but Harls.

"And what the hell were you doing in her apartment?"

"Spent Friday night with her."

There was silence. "You, Joker, king of the one-night stands, spent a whole night in a woman's apartment and didn't hop on her?"

Joker just crossed his arms instead of replying. He surely wasn't going to say that he had slept many Friday's with her and hadn't touched her.

He watched as the corners of Flag's lips twitched. Joker could tell that he was amused. The man looked like he was having a tough time not laughing and staying mad.

"When I got together with June, I thought that I would have to turn down your weekly offer to peruse the clubs, but you never invited me again. I thought you might be dragging someone else around with you, but you've spent your Fridays with her, haven't you?"

Why did everyone come to that conclusion?

When Joker again didn't answer, Flag exploded into laughter and for once Joker wasn't the one laughing like an idiot. If anything, his eyes narrowed at his friend who was still trying to contain a chuckle.

"You're so fucked," Flag said when the fits stopped.

"What the fuck that supposed to me?" Joker felt his eyebrow tick in annoyance. He loved to laugh but he did not like being laughed at.

"Nothing, man, nothing. I'm guessing you and Harley aren't going to stop this any time soon so I'm just going to sit back and watch. But I'm going to warn you, Harley has a close set of friends and a brother who would kill for her. When all shit goes down in flames because of you can't come to terms with some things, they will come for you and I'm not going to stop them."

If Joker did do anything to harm or piss off Harley, it wouldn't be her brother that would get to him first. If anything, Harley would have already strung him by his neck. She was feisty when she knew she was right.

"What things?" Joker asked.

"What?"

"You said come to terms with some things. What things?" Flag cracked a smile and Joker's eyes narrowed. It was at that moment that Joker realized that his friend thought he was going to fall for Harley. "It's just a fling, Flag."

"What every you guys have to tell yourselves."

Joker shook his head. There was no point in arguing about this.

"So, we good?" Joker asked as he raised his hand between them. He thought that there would be more punching, and blood involved in this whole process.

Flag clasped his hand in a shake and gave him a quick half hug. "Yeah, we're good. I was more pissed that you didn't keep your word than I was about you guys were sleeping together, but I can tell that you put up a hell of a fight for my sake. Just don't ever let me see you guy's fucking." Flag's face grimaced, and Joker knew that he was thinking about this morning.

The thought made him grin. "No promises."


	11. Chapter 11

_Elo y'all! Been a while since I've updated I know Reality got crazy but rest assured this story will continue to get updated._

 _As always, hope you enjoy and make sure to comment to let me know what you think. :3_

* * *

A bounce in her step and a smile on her face was how Harley walked towards the little café. She received a text from Tatsu earlier that day mentioning that she was close to the clinic Harley worked at and wanted to grab coffee or dinner.

She had asked specifically if June was coming and when the answer was in the negative, she had said she would be around right after her shift. It wasn't as if she was trying to avoid June, but with the recent events—very recent—she knew that Joker would have told Flag. They were done hiding from their friends their…well she wouldn't call it a relationship, but it was a friendship…sort of.

So why was she trying to dodge June? She just felt bad whenever she looked at her best friend's stern motherly look. It was the type of face with the narrowed eyes and pursed lips that made youngsters run away from their mother because they knew a sermon was coming.

She knew a deep conversation about the situation with her gals was needed but she felt so high from her night and morning with Joker that she didn't want to come down from it yet with a stuffy conversation. Even the surprise visit from Flag wasn't enough to bring her down, so when she walked into the café and her eyes landed on the brunette with piercing eyes, Harley froze.

June's eyes were directed at her and for a moment they just stared at each other. It wasn't until Harley's eyes scanned the table that June sat at and found Tatsu that she broke her eye contact with the woman to silently ask her darker haired friend what June was doing there. Words were exchanged through her eyes and without actual speech, but the other woman understood her question.

Watching as Tatsu lifted her hand to her face, using it as a partition between June's vision and her lips, she mouthed, "She knows. Sorry."

Dammit, she totally saw this coming. She should be an adult about this and confront her friends. They deserved to know everything. Joker and she had talk about this and had both agreed that they knew what they were doing and where they stood. Yes, she should talk to them.

Closing her eyes, Harley took a deep breath, steeled her nerves and took a step.

That's right, she took a step. A step backwards towards the door as she made to high-tail it out of the café.

"Harleen!" The yell came from none other than her best friend and made Harley stop in her tracks.

Turning around from the glass door that symbolized her only escape, Harley pouted with her cheeks puffed and dragged her feet towards the window table.

Not bothering to look at her friends, she pulled out the chair with a loud squeak and plopped her butt down, arms crossed.

"Why are you sulking? You don't even know why I'm here. Thanks for the invite by the way," June said, though just from her tone Harley knew exactly why she was there.

Instead of answering, she let her eyes land on her friend's face and rose one perfect eyebrow. She watched as her friend first stare her down then with a sigh June rolled her eyes at her dramatics.

"Okay, so I'm kind of mad because I was the last to know," June confessed.

"Last to know about what?" Harley replied. She was trying to evade the question. She just wanted to be sure that they were talking about the same thing. For all she knew, they could have been talking about the last piece of pie that she had stolen from their fridge the previous day when she had still been pouting over Joker.

Her friend looked her dead in the eye. "I'm the last to know about Joker." And there it was. "Rick told me this morning and when I hurriedly called Tatsu, it seemed like she already knew about it too."

Harley watched as June sent a glare over at the dark-haired lady who just shrugged. "Not my fault that your building is so far away from the medical buildings on campus. And I may have completely forgotten to mention that Joker came to pick up Harley by the time I saw you."

June rolled her eyes again. "Right. Forgot."

Regardless of the seriousness of her friend's countenance, Harley couldn't help but let out a giggle at Tatsu's evasion. She had almost forgotten that she should have been sulking at being bamboozled into showing up.

Then something occurred to her. June was mad not because she was caught with Joker but because she had been the last to know. Or maybe she was mad at both being the last to know and it being Joker. Either way, June was not very pleased, and the guilt began to eat away at her.

She was going to come clean to her at some point, honest. She just really didn't want it to be today since she needed time to prepare for her mother talks.

Letting out a dramatic sigh, Harley lifted her eyes to June's. "I'm sorry."

For a second, June's eyebrow shot up. "What?"

"I'm sorry, okay. Don't make me say it again." Harley sat up straight in her chair. "It wasn't like we were planning on not telling Flag and you. It just kind of ended up like that. And I swear J and I were trying to be friends for your guy's sake. It just kind of got out of hand."

"Yeah, 'out of hand.' That's one way of putting it. I think Rick might have actually puked in his mouth when he was retelling the story about this morning."

Harley's face reddened. Her face was so hot, she was sure she could boil water on it.

"Wait, what am I missing?" Tatsu leaned in. "You just told me that you knew that J and Harley were a thing."

"Oh no! Doesn't it suck to be kept out of the loop," June fake gasped.

"Har har," Tatsu replied.

Pointing a finger in Harley's direction, June filled Tatsu in on what Flag had explained to her as being one of the most awkward exchanges he had in his life.

"You didn't!" Tatsu neared screamed as Harley tried to hide behind the menu. When she didn't answer, Tatsu looked more amused than Harley had ever seen her before. "I would say that I am surprised, but I've seen the way you eye that man. I'm sure you would have kept on going even if a blanket hadn't been thrown over you."

That brought Harley back to that morning when she had felt Joker moving inside her. Even now as she was getting interrogated, she was so close to salivating over his exposed muscles. The man was all muscle and tattoos that the image of him was forever carved into the back of her eyelids.

"Okay. I can tell that we are starting to lose her, so this is where I stop the sex talk." June's voice broke her thoughts regardless of how much she wanted to continue thinking about the green-haired man. "

"I didn't mean to scar Rick, and I was going to tell you tomorrow, I swear." Now that she was confronted with it, she knew she should have told June sooner. "I just needed some time to process what was happening."

"From the timeline Rick told me about, you've had months to process the information."

Harley bit at her lower lip. "Last night was new development."

It was then that June's eyebrow rose in questions and it donned on Harley that perhaps Rick hadn't told her everything. Or maybe that her Puddin' hadn't told Rick everything.

"Why don't I just start from the beginning? I'll tell you girls everything, but can we order first?" Her stomach growled. "I'm starving."

Tatsu's lip warped into a sadistic smile. "After that late night, early morning, and mid-day work out, I bet you are." A comment to which Harley stuck her tongue out to.

Once they ordered, Harley recounted the story of how she had bumped into Joker's shop the day she locked herself out of her apartment. When she had mentioned that it was because of June scarring her, the other woman blushed lightening the mood of the table. She went on to mention that they had sex that night but stayed friend's for months before last night happened.

"Oh my gawd, was that why you dragged us out dancing? Because J had someone's number on his hand?" June asked and when Harley nodded, her face fell. "Oh Harley, how deep are you?"

It was a vague question, but Harley knew the answer. "I'm in so deep you might as well toss me into the Marianas Trench with concrete shoes on," she said with a straight face.

She watched as her best friends traded concerned looks.

"How well do you know him? I've heard from Rick that J's had a hard time coming back to the civilian life since he came back from his tour."

Harley nodded her head and she had to stifle a smile from sneaking onto her face remembering the conversation that they had. It was their own little secret that both Joker and she were not the soundest of mind.

"I am aware, June." There were many nights that they chatted about what he had seen during his tours. Her Puddin' would always groan and roll his eyes when she asked how everything made him feel, but she couldn't help asking the cliché words of a doctor.

Regardless, Joker answered her inane questions. It was from this that she learned of his past and the adventures that he had encountered. All the while, she shared stories of her early life and how she had met her friends.

"Do you really?" June continued, "I am not angry at him for the tattoo incident anymore, but I still think he is rather secretive. Remember how you asked why his name was Joker? Well I asked Rick, and it's just a nickname. In fac- "

"Only Frost and Flag know his real name and even in the military they had used the name Joker as his codename," Harley finished the sentence for her. "He told me himself."

At that her friend's eyes nearly bulged out of her face and she watched as June traded a look with Tatsu.

"So, he told you his real name?" Harley hesitated before nodding her head. She wasn't sure why June seemed more interested in this fact than when she found out about them sleeping together.

Joker tended to tell her a lot of things. He always said that she was so annoying that he would tell her anything just to shut her up.

"Well then," June started, "Perhaps, he's a little bit too far in as well."

Her forehead crinkled as she tried to decipher was her friend was saying. "What do you mean?"

"She's saying that he has the hots for you," Tatsu explained in her deadpanned voice.

At first, hope caused Harley's heart to flutter, then within a second, she squashed down the ideas of her friends.

"No," she said firmly. "He doesn't want a relationship, and I…I am too busy to be in a relationship. So, it's better that we just stay friends."

"Bull," June said in a sing song voice.

With a sigh, Harley face planted onto the wooden table. If her friends were able to see through that lie, then she worried that Joker would be able to as well. Most of the time, she said the words more to convince herself that she didn't need more. Even though she was busy, she knew that if Joker wanted a relationship with her that she would jump through hoops to rearrange her crazy life to see him. Heck, she was already doing it.

She never used to take Fridays off but since their hang-out nights began, she did so.

"Guys just shoot me now," she grumbled and put her fingers to her head in the form of a make-believe gun before pulling the trigger and making the shooting sound.

"This is what I was worried about, Harleen." June placed her hand on hers and waited until Harley looked up at her. "I could see that you really liked him from the moment you laid eyes on him that night in the club. At first, I thought it was the booze but then I saw the steam practically coming off you when you met again the day after. It was so hot in there that paint was practically peeling of the walls."

"This isn't helping with the, 'I am falling for him fast but don't want to give it up' situation."

"Okay, well basically, you have two choices. One, you break it off completely and remain friends. Or two, you continue on this path of destruction and hope that he falls in love with you," June summarized, and emphasized the first point as if it was the obvious choice.

There was a snort and both women looked at Tatsu. "Like they could stay friends. June, you may have just found out about them, but trust me when I say that there is no way on earth that they could be just friends. They nearly ripped each other's clothes off in the middle of the parking lot last time."

Before Harley could retort, the waitress had come back with their food. Normally, she would dive right into the sandwich that she had ordered, but right now her thoughts ran.

Tatsu was correct. There was no way they could ever go back to a platonic relationship, if they ever really had a purely platonic relationship. In their situation, sex and friendship went hand in hand. Yes, they enjoyed each others company, but they also could not help mentally stripping each other.

The biggest problem was that for her, the sex and friendship also dragged along feelings of love. She knew it from the very start that Joker was like a poison that slowly seeped into her system and now he was slowly worming into her heart. A heart that had never really known a romantic type of love.

If she decided to leave Joker right now, she would be heart broken that much she knew. But, if she was to go along with the situation, her heart wouldn't be broken, it would be shattered when her Puddin' would eventually get bored of her and move on.

It made the idea of leaving this instant all the more endearing. But then the laughs and smiles that they shared would vanish as well.

"I'm staying," she said definitely, more to herself than anyone else. Then she dove into her sandwich as her friends shared another look.

"I told you so," Tatsu taunted.

"You can't be serious, Harleen. I know there's no point of telling you not to see him, but please just really think about this," June pleaded, ignoring the bowl of pasta was in front of her. A bowl of pasta that Harley now had more interest in than the present conversation. She made up her mind and wasn't going back.

She inched her fork towards the pasta as she replied. "I'm going to be heartbroken regardless, so why can't I just spend more time with him before he dumps me to the side."

It was a crass way of saying it, but Harley decided that there was no point on lying to herself. She was falling for Joker and had to deal with the reality that he only saw her as a friend who he couldn't seem to keep his hands off. The fact that he hadn't slept with anyone since he had met her was already enough for her to feel happy.

What she had said distracted her friend enough that she was able to stab a couple penne pasta and quickly shove it in her mouth before June could pull away her plate.

They gave her a worried look but said nothing.

Harley knew what they were thinking. Watching her situation was going to be like watching a cup of coffee slowly inch to the edge of the table until it lost balance, fell to the ground and shattered. They would feel helpless watching it but would still watch regardless.

Except, what made it worse was that she could put a stop to it whenever she wanted. But somehow, she wanted to watch that coffee stain the hypothetical Persian carpet below and enjoy the fall until then.

* * *

Joker nursed his beer as he doodled a customer's request in Flag's apartment. The man had wanted a photo of his wife tattooed onto his chest and as much as Joker wanted to tell the man just how many cover-ups he had done on divorced couples who had a similar idea, he kept his mouth shut.

It was free money. Besides that, he also had a tattoo that constantly reminded him of a certain blonde-haired woman.

Around him, Flag and Frost sat on the couches and watched the sports channel. It seemed like gym and TV was the only thing the three of them did.

He wanted to see Harley, but he knew that she was out with the girls. He smiled when she had texted him that they had "bamboozled" her into coming.

Considering how she was still in a chipper mood, the chat about their now revealed friendship must have gone well. Then again, the woman was so happy that even the apocalypse would have her smiling. She had a twisted sense of humour so chances were that she would be laughing during the apocalypse anyways.

When Flag had revealed to Frost what he had seen earlier that day, Frost smirked and didn't even bother to say anything. However, the look that he gave Joker said more than enough. 'Better get your shit together soon, brother.'

Thinking about the morning, Joker pried his eyes away from his sketchbook and took a glance at the guest bedroom that he had occupied with Harley just that day. Just thinking about her had him wanting to readjust himself in his pants.

Unfortunately, his line of sight was noticed by Flag who made a choking noise.

"You are never allowed to sleep in this apartment again," Flag stated keeping his eyes on the TV. "I would take away your key privileges if you didn't keep coming here with six-packs of beer with you."

"I would be out of your hair right now if your girlfriend hadn't dragged Harley out for dinner," Joker mumbled and took another sip of his beer.

When he turned back to his sketchbook, he nearly spat the brew all over the living room. Looking back at him was the black and white eyes of a woman. The sketch had wide eyes and delicate features along with a glowing smile. Regardless of it being done in pencil, he could already see the bright blues of the woman's eyes.

With a growl, he flipped the page over onto a fresh page. He had been so distracted thinking about her that the picture of the customer's wife had suddenly began taking on her characteristics. Before he knew it, he seemed to have drawn a perfect replicate of Harley.

It wasn't normal for him to be obsessed with a certain woman, but he chalked it up to her being able to literally bend over backwards for him.

He shook off the screams of denial in his mind and instead once again focused on the picture of the man's wife and began to sketch anew. For minutes he lost himself in the photo and congratulated himself on being able to draw the outline of the woman instead of Harley.

It was then that the front door to the apartment swung open and a group of chattering women entered.

Ever since Flag had gotten a girlfriend, their normal man cave had slowly begun to turn into a hang out spot for June and now her close friends as well.

It didn't really bother him considering the object of his obsession was now bending over to take off her shoes letting him have the best view of her backside. Tatsu and June also did the same, but Joker's eyes were fixed on Harley.

When she stood to her full height, she took a glance around and when she spotted him reclined on the couch, smiled.

"Puddin!" she nearly screamed before bounding to him.

She crashed into his lap and gave him a tight squeeze. It didn't shock him when she did so and gave her a pat on the back. However, when he took a look around, he could see the disgusted look on Flag's face, the surprised one on June's and the equally deadpanned faces of Tatsu and Frost.

"You know you just saw me this morning, right?" he asked as she continued to nuzzle him. He didn't say it, but he was also a little glad to see her. Just a little.

"I know, but it's been a hard day. And June cornered me." She said the last part in a yelled whisper.

At that, June yelled, "Hey! Not my fault you guys have been sneaking around behind my back."

Harley pouted. "I said sorry already."

"Yes, you did. And you?" June gave Joker a pointed look.

"What?" he asked innocently.

"Where's our apology?" He could tell that she was half joking.

"Sorry we scarred Flag," he said in a monotone voice. Then his lips spread into a smirk. "Even though he should have been honoured to see something like that. I know you probably think that he could learn a couple things from me when it comes to the bedroom, June. I'm sorry you're stuck with him."

Harley giggled in his lap at her friend's baffled face.

"Not funny, bro," Flag mumbled and dragged June towards him for a kiss.

"Ah, so vanilla," Joker teased earning him a finger from Flag.

Suddenly he felt a finger poke him in the chest, and he turned towards Harley to see her staring pointedly at his sketchbook. Then she turned her puffed out cheeks and glare at him. Without saying anything, she turned the sketchbook around dramatically so that he was looking at the sketch of the wife and then pointed at it as if you emphasize her point.

He knew exactly what she was thinking and had the urge to tease her. "Isn't she pretty? Man could fall in love with eyes like those."

As he said the words, he was staring at her baby blues and couldn't help but feel how true those words were.

Harley dropped the book, crossed her arms, turned away from him and continued to pout.

"I even have a picture from her." He took out the pocket-sized photo. "The perfect size for my wallet, don't you think?"

He tried to make her look at the photo, but she kept avoiding looking at it. He couldn't help but start to chuckle and around him he could hear others being amused as well.

"Come on, Harls." He placed the sketchbook to the floor and encircled her waist with his arms then dragged her closer to him until her back was pressed up against his chest. "Take a look." When she finally looked up, he flipped the photo over to the Post-it that he knew was on the back.

On it was his scribbled writing of the customer number, appointment time, and style preferences.

A bellowing laugh was ripped out of his lungs when he felt Harley quickly turn in his lap and land a punch to his chest. He didn't even try to block her punches since he could tell that she was also playing around. If she was really trying to hurt him, he knew that they would feel a lot more like bullets than kitten paws.

"So not funny, Puddin'!" she whined and continued to pound at his chest until he caught both her wrists in his hands.

"You always set yourself up for them," he chuckled then leaned in so that he could whisper in her ear. "The only photo I want in my wallet is a naked one of you."

Harley blushed and turned her head to give him a kiss, but before she could plant one on his lips, Flag's voice interrupted her.

"Okay, this is where I kick you guys out of my apartment before I have to call the police for public indecency," he said exasperatedly. He looked around at Tatsu and Frost who had taken seats around the TV. "You guys can stay if you want. Just you two, out."

Grumbling, Joker pulled away from Harley, but not before he saw the mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "Are you sure we can't just use your guest bedroom?" she asked sweetly causing Joker to cackle.

"Out!" Flag yelled as his eyebrow ticked. "I swear both of you are like children."

Joker set Harley on her feet before getting up and picking up his book. He quickly flipped it closed making sure that no one, including Harley, was able to see his earlier sketch of the bright eyed blonde.

"I don't know man, I would be concerned if children had the same habits as we did," he commented while making his way to the front door with Harley in tow.

His only response was a groan.

After Harley hugged her girls goodbye, they walked out of the apartment which promptly closed behind them. Harley began to walk down the hallway, but Joker grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He quickly pressed his lips against hers and maneuvered them so that her back was pressed against the wall.

It didn't take long for her to respond to him and soon she was grasping his hair in an attempt to bring him closer.

Between kisses, he mumbled, "Your place or mine?"

And as she placed a hickey on his neck, she answered. "Yours."

* * *

"I hope they don't go back to Harley and mine's apartment," June said when the door had shut behind them.

It had just occurred to her that now there may be a chance of her possibly hearing Joker and Harley going at it, or worse yet, possibly seeing them. The thought made her go white.

When the four left in the room took a seat in the living room, Flag asked the question that everyone was probably thinking.

"So, what do you guy's think?"

Tatsu visibly shrugged. "I don't think it's any of our business what happens."

At this Frost nodded his head in agreement.

"What if this ends very badly?" June asked while chewing on her bottom lip in worry.

"Then they live with the consequences. Harley and Joker aren't children, June," Tatsu said.

"Well they sure act like it." There was silence for a moment. "I didn't realize how close they were until today."

"First time I met Harley, she bounded into the shop and nearly bulldozed Boss into a hug," Frost recounted. "From what I've seen, they've always been like that."

June pondered for a moment. There were always immediate sparks. As she fell for Rick, she knew that Harley did the same for Joker. However, while Rick and she followed the regular progression of the relationship and started to date, she could tell that Joker wasn't exactly the type.

She cared for Harley very much, and while she knew that the woman was more than able to take care for herself, sometimes she was worried that Harley was too strong.

Harley knew exactly what she wanted and went for it regardless of the consequences, and even when the consequences came, she would deal with them and move on. No matter how much it hurt her, and no matter how tattered she came out on the other side.

Rick reached over and gave her hand a squeeze.

"Don't worry, J will get it through his thick skull some how," he said simply.

Frost added, "Eventually."


End file.
